tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-40686656201347159962017-12-16T17:29:37.386+00:00Scripting LifeTeenie Russellhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04464060806712120012noreply@blogger.comBlogger35125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4068665620134715996.post-58097013092153388452013-04-24T13:53:00.000+01:002013-04-24T13:53:03.491+01:00Cake and WritingI am currently developing my 3rd sitcom! It sounds great doesn't it? The truth is, I've gone nowhere with the first two. No matter how many times I read them or rewrite them, something doesn't feel quite right. I simply do not love them enough to even get some professional notes on them, let alone submit them to Producers.<br /><br />Rather than insisting on something that's not working, I started fresh with a new idea that I've been wanting to write for the last couple of years.<br /><br />It's not just the sitcoms that sit stored away in my computer, I also have a couple of features and various shorts, none of which I have deemed worthy enough to be shared. It's really bugged me though that I've not been able to just focus on one project at a time and feel the constant need to move on and start a new script. I feel like a child that desperately wants a toy but is easily distracted by a fly.<br /><br />Then last week I baked my favourite cake ever and I realised that just like my writing is just like my baking. I'll explain.<br /><br />I've always enjoyed baking and would never miss an opportunity to do so but it wasn't until the kids came along that I started to get a little more creative and ventured into the world of so-called novelty cakes. I admit, they are not the most mouth-watering cakes out there but they can look amazing.<br /><br />My first attempt at a novelty cake was a 3D Frog for my niece from <a href="http://www.debbiebrownscakes.co.uk/easy-party-cakes-p-40.html" target="_blank">Debbie Brown's 50 Easy Party Cakes book</a>. I remember being praised for my cake, &nbsp;but you know what they say about family reading your work, well, it's the same in the cake world. It's very kind of them but I'll let you all judge it for yourselves.&nbsp;Let's just say, my frog wasn't very happy.<br /><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-DE1WhNAKHO0/UXe96XVHeJI/AAAAAAAAAcs/q5z3vt7agbU/s1600/Frog+Cakes.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="222" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-DE1WhNAKHO0/UXe96XVHeJI/AAAAAAAAAcs/q5z3vt7agbU/s400/Frog+Cakes.jpg" width="400" /></a></div><br /><br />A month later it was my son's 1st birthday and his poor rubber duckie cake was a complete let down.<br /><br />And so, the years went by and I kept on baking novelty cakes for various occasions.&nbsp;There were a couple that were quite disastrous, especially a 3D skull cake I baked for my little brother, but overall they were coming together quite nicely, especially the princess castle I baked for my niece's 4th birthday.<br /><br />With every bake, I would get more compliments and comments that I should be selling my cakes, but the problem is, when you're the baker, you know where all the cracks are. You might be able to cover them and offer the cake at a different angle for others to view but to a perfectionist like myself, it just wouldn't do. I wasn't confident enough in my work to allow others to pay for it.<br /><br />Then I baked a Star Wars cake and the response was so overwhelming that I finally allowed myself to start thinking bigger. For once, I was happy with it. It was absolutely not perfect, Yoda for example was bigger than Han Solo and Princess Leia, and Darth Vader was on the short side, but in terms of the actual cake, I was satisfied.<br /><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"></div><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-HcPIPD-CknM/UXfODC0YL-I/AAAAAAAAAdI/vLN7SZPC-6o/s1600/SW+cake.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-HcPIPD-CknM/UXfODC0YL-I/AAAAAAAAAdI/vLN7SZPC-6o/s320/SW+cake.jpg" width="255" /></a></div><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"></div><br />I was ready to move on to the next stage and when a friend asked if she could hire me to bake her daughter's cake, I did not hesitate to say yes.&nbsp;The party isn't for another 2weeks and I'm still keeping my fingers crossed that all goes well, but I am truly excited.<br /><br />Meanwhile, I got the chance to do another 3D cake - Lightning McQueen. I hadn't done a 3D cake in a little while and I was picturing something that looked like McQueen but wasn't quite him. I baked my sponge and set of to mould it and frost it. The following day I had a look and it simply wasn't McQueen. I hesitated a little but then got a knife out and started to hack through the frosting. I was determined to make him perfect, not just something that looks like what it should be. By the time I was ready to add the sugar paste, I was satisfied that it was as good as it could be.<br /><br />When my son walked in from school, his face lit up and all he could say was "Wow", and we know kids don't lie (maybe sometimes). I had made my best cake ever and I was impressed by my own work. Not only was the finish to my satisfaction, but the structure itself (the sponge) was quite seamless.<br /><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-9WzjHgYe72g/UXfOC_T29KI/AAAAAAAAAdU/6UD95G1TdUo/s1600/cars+cake.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-9WzjHgYe72g/UXfOC_T29KI/AAAAAAAAAdU/6UD95G1TdUo/s320/cars+cake.jpg" width="320" /></a></div><br /><br /><br />It's taken me 4years to finally accept that I can in fact create a cake that others will want to buy and I suddenly realised that it's for that same reason that I am yet to have a script that I am completely satisfied with. <br /><br />So for now, I'll keep on writing and rewriting and who knows, the day I'm happy enough with my writing and stop giving myself a hard time about it, I'll finally get the professional notes that will help me improve it further.<br /><br />Meanwhile, if anyone needs cake, it'll be my pleasure :-)Teenie Russellhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04464060806712120012noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4068665620134715996.post-86592955104773113812013-02-08T15:38:00.000+00:002013-02-08T15:38:25.362+00:00An Inconvenience<br /><div style="font-family: Helvetica;"><span style="letter-spacing: 0px;">My phone beeps indicating a message and for the 20th time I find myself typing “I’m OK, thanks”. And do you know what? I really am, in fact, I’m great.</span></div><div style="font-family: Helvetica; min-height: 14px;"><span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px;"></span></div><div style="font-family: Helvetica; min-height: 14px;"><span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px;"></span><br /></div><div style="font-family: Helvetica;"><span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px;">For a little while now I’ve been getting the occasional lower back pain/ leg pain typical of sciatica. I roll myself on the floor, do some stretches and presto, I’m ready to get on with my daily tasks. My husband and a good friend think otherwise, they both urge me to join them for Pilates but I shrug it away. Who has time for Pilates really? I’m a busy Mum and when the kids are finally in bed, the last thing I want to do is get into the car and drive to a class. And so I keep on moving.</span></div><div style="font-family: Helvetica;"><span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px;"><br /></span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-gZXU865vUP8/ToEnFbghC8I/AAAAAAAAACw/byE6TvbmZvs/s1600/Exercising+Cartoon.png" target="_blank"><img border="0" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-3h9UW4Jp7g4/URUXUcwA7mI/AAAAAAAAAa8/zVtS4_M3d14/s1600/Exercising+Cartoon.png" /></a></div><div style="font-family: Helvetica;"><span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px;"><br /></span></div><div style="font-family: Helvetica; min-height: 14px;"><span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px;"></span><br /></div><div style="font-family: Helvetica;"><span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px;">One Friday it all came to a standstill. I woke and couldn’t move. Turning to any side hurt, a lot! I was stuck in bed whilst downstairs my boys were having breakfast getting ready for the day ahead. Upstairs, I was immobile. I decided it just wouldn’t do. With some effort and pain, I turned myself towards the edge of the bed and rolled right off it landing flat on the ground with only my arms for support. Slowly, I got myself on all fours and then focused on standing up. It wasn’t going to happen. That was my day, I crawled down the stairs and when I finally made it after 20minutes I burst into tears. I couldn’t find anyone to help out last minute, so Taro had to stay home. It was a very long day and my greatest achievement was to get myself onto the toilet without the humiliation of having to use my son’s potty. I got prescribed anti-inflammatory meds by my lovely GP and by Monday I was mobile once again.</span></div><div style="font-family: Helvetica; min-height: 14px;"><span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px;"></span><br /></div><div style="font-family: Helvetica;"><span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px;">I was cured and back to normal and I still wouldn’t go to Pilates.</span></div><div style="font-family: Helvetica; min-height: 14px;"><span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px;"></span><br /></div><div style="font-family: Helvetica;"><span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px;">I’m not sure when it started again. Sometime before Christmas I started to get the odd pain here and there. These were funny pains. My leg would get numb for a short while whilst walking, sometimes it would get hot, others just feel pain. My back was also a little sore. It was always short lived and after a little spot of back exercises, I was new again.&nbsp;</span></div><div style="font-family: Helvetica; min-height: 14px;"><span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px;"></span><br /></div><div style="font-family: Helvetica;"><span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px;">Then came the new year and my resolution to get organised meant that I needed to keep up with my to-do lists and get things done. One of those items was to sort out an appointment with the GP, so I did. By the time I got to the GP, it was almost the end of the month. By then, I was waking up daily with sharp pains that would slowly go away during the day as I moved around, but sitting down was always way too painful. I got prescribed once again anti-inflammatory meds and was over the moon. They had worked really well before and were therefore bound to work again. Five days later I was worse, much worse. It was a Saturday and my feet were numb. I found myself dragging my feet around and the pain was too great to bear. Sleeping was horrendous as my calf would burn up and I had to keep massaging it to calm it down. I cried. I didn’t know what to do, I considered calling an ambulance but it was Saturday night, possibly the worse night to go to A&amp;E. I fell alseep and woke up feeling a little better albeit still numb. During the next couple of days, the sharp pain would return but I’d massage my legs back to numbness and all would be fine again.</span></div><div style="font-family: Helvetica;"><span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px;"><br /></span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://www.sciaticatreatmentonline.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/10/how-to-cure-sciatica.jpg" target="_blank"><img border="0" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-d-bKlGwgisc/URUYGLpwZpI/AAAAAAAAAbE/KZFKrBQ7IPU/s1600/how-to-cure-sciatica.jpg" /></a></div><div style="font-family: Helvetica;"><span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px;"><br /></span></div><div style="font-family: Helvetica; min-height: 14px;"><span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px;"></span><br /></div><div style="font-family: Helvetica;"><span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px;">That Monday I called the GP and got referred to an MRI, they couldn’t guarantee an appointment sooner than 2 weeks. I panicked and go prescribed stronger meds. The following day, it all became too much. My sister had come over to help out at home with the kids and didn’t like what she saw. The numbness had now moved up to my coccyx area, something was seriously wrong. Without delay, my sister instructed the boys to pack their bags, they were going to sleep over at her house and I was going to A&amp;E. She contacted my husband and got him to come home.</span></div><div style="font-family: Helvetica; min-height: 14px;"><span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px;"></span><br /></div><div style="font-family: Helvetica;"><span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px;">At that point, I could no longer walk without support, my feet dragged and I had no balance. With great difficulty, I stumbled out of the cab and found a railing, I held firmly on and made my way to A&amp;E. A few minutes later, I was giving my details to the receptionist. After finding me in the system (and realising I didn’t live in a caravan in Manchester), I got passed to the next desk. My legs were giving way, I could no longer stand there detailing my troubles, yet I couldn’t help but wonder how much they believe you and how much of an act they think people put on when telling them all their problems. I headed to the waiting area. It was full, after lying across a couple of chairs in an attempt to ease the pain, I started to scan the room for a good spot to lie down. This was A&amp;E after all, if you’re not dying, you’re not priority. Minutes later, I was being called, ahead of everyone else. I was delighted but also quite worried. Was I really an emergency?&nbsp;</span></div><div style="font-family: Helvetica;"><span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px;"><br /></span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://i639.photobucket.com/albums/uu115/tistelblomst/funny/hospital-reception-cartoon.jpg" target="_blank"><img border="0" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-xdMplcNN81E/URUYQ75hd_I/AAAAAAAAAbM/t0bG8d18Mmk/s1600/hospital-reception-cartoon.jpg" /></a></div><div style="font-family: Helvetica;"><span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px;"><br /></span></div><div style="font-family: Helvetica; min-height: 14px;"><span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px;"></span><br /></div><div style="font-family: Helvetica;"><span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px;">For the next couple of days, I heard that word a lot: Emergency.&nbsp;</span></div><div style="font-family: Helvetica; min-height: 14px;"><span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px;"></span><br /></div><div style="font-family: Helvetica;"><span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px;">The next morning I had an emergency MRI and realised just how claustrophobic I am; I enjoyed a little morphine thanks to the chatty porter who demanded some pain relief for the young lady who’s in a lot of pain; and I got my first ever bed wash! Humiliating but very welcome.</span></div><div style="font-family: Helvetica;"><span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px;"><br /></span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-9K-rgiXpK0E/URUUxIS8g2I/AAAAAAAAAas/r94C-QCxo_Y/s1600/Paramedic+Jake.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="font-family: Times; margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em; text-align: center;"><img border="0" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-9K-rgiXpK0E/URUUxIS8g2I/AAAAAAAAAas/r94C-QCxo_Y/s1600/Paramedic+Jake.jpg" /></a></div><div style="font-family: Helvetica;"></div><div style="font-family: Helvetica; min-height: 14px;"><span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px;"></span><br /></div><div style="font-family: Helvetica;"><span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px;">From there, I got transferred to Charing Cross hospital by a Jake Gyllenhaal lookalike for an emergency surgery. As the doctor explained,&nbsp; I was priority on their emergency list and was going under the knife 1st thing in the morning, unless someone arrived and needed surgery as a matter of life and death.</span></div><div style="font-family: Helvetica;"><span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px;"><br /></span></div><div style="font-family: Helvetica; min-height: 14px;"><span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px;"></span><br /></div><div style="font-family: Helvetica;"><span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px;">I was excited! Sure, I was also scared by the things that could go wrong, but I was looking forward to walking again. I had told my son that as soon as Mummy was better, we would play football, so I focused on that.</span></div><div style="font-family: Helvetica; min-height: 14px;"><span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px;"></span><br /></div><div style="font-family: Helvetica;"><span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px;">It was 6 am and I was getting prepped, to start with, a nice bed wash and a change of sheets, I was getting used to this now. I then got visited by one of the surgeons as a matter of courtesy, and by an anesthetist to explain the process. At 8am the world was moving upside down as my bed got wheeled to the prep room. I saw bright lights as the oxygen mask covered my face and woke up in a rather large room with lots of space for other beds. I was in recovery and drifted in and out of sleep always waking up with a new face staring down at me. But then I panicked. As I moved my feet, they still felt numb. The pain was gone, but the numbness remained. I could have cried but I was so terribly dry and thirsty from the procedure there were no tears.</span></div><div style="font-family: Helvetica;"><span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px;"><br /></span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://coolrisk.com/files/coolrisk/cartoons/operation_risks.jpg" target="_blank"><img border="0" height="153" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-rsyeCXrh5wA/URUU8CGACwI/AAAAAAAAAa0/HjKIUkLojbw/s320/operation_risks.jpg" width="320" /></a></div><div style="font-family: Helvetica;"><span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px;"><br /></span></div><div style="font-family: Helvetica; min-height: 14px;"><span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px;"></span><br /></div><div style="font-family: Helvetica;"><span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px;">As a result of a tear during the operation, spinal fluid leaked. I would have to remain horizontal for the next 4 days to get it drained! It seemed like a task, 4 days of sipping water through a straw, lying sideways to eat some soft food and relying on a bed pan, which just wasn’t happening. Thankfully I was relieved of this bed torture by day 3 and was back on my feet, almost!&nbsp;</span></div><div style="font-family: Helvetica; min-height: 14px;"><span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px;"></span><br /></div><div style="font-family: Helvetica;"><span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px;">I have now been home for 4days and recovery seems far away. I have battled with insomnia and am finally able to get a decent sleep again, my taste buds are coming back and along with them my appetite and coffee drinking habit, but my feet are still weights at the end of my body and my coccyx is still numb. Of course I have Googled it and people do recover, even if it takes a year but I’m human and all I focus on at times is the chance that the damage could have been permanent.</span></div><div style="font-family: Helvetica; min-height: 14px;"><span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px;"></span><br /></div><div style="font-family: Helvetica;"><span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px;">I had my first breakdown yesterday when the physiotherapist came to visit but quickly dried my tears. It really is stupid. So I can’t walk properly, my legs are very weak and using the toilet is a mission, but I’m not incontinent and I’m moving around and the strength in the leg muscles will definitely come back. I have had an amazing amount of support from family and friends and the boys’ faces when Mummy came home was priceless.</span></div><div style="font-family: Helvetica; min-height: 14px;"><span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px;"></span><br /></div><div style="font-family: Helvetica;"><span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px;">Sometimes I feel sorry for myself, this certainly wasn’t planned, and could have been avoided by me not just “trying to get on with it” so often and doing the bleeping pilates. But I’m alive, I’m functioning well, I’ve got full control of my mind, body and soul and it’s not a couple of limbs that will drag me down.</span></div><div style="font-family: Helvetica; min-height: 14px;"><span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px;"></span><br /></div><div style="font-family: Helvetica;"><span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px;">I might not be fully healed yet but I am great and one day, I’m going to play football with my boys.</span></div><div><span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px;"><br /></span></div>Teenie Russellhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04464060806712120012noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4068665620134715996.post-67129952514492676712013-01-09T21:19:00.000+00:002013-01-10T10:32:19.201+00:00Free Your Mind<br /><span style="letter-spacing: 0px;"><span style="font-family: Courier New, Courier, monospace;">I’m back!&nbsp;</span></span><br /><div style="min-height: 14px;"><span style="font-family: Courier New, Courier, monospace;"><span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px;"></span><br /></span></div><span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px;"><span style="font-family: Courier New, Courier, monospace;">I realise blogging about resolutions is so last week and by now you’ve probably already broken the no chocolate, no alcohol, write every day promises, but here goes mine anyway.</span></span><br /><div style="min-height: 14px;"><span style="font-family: Courier New, Courier, monospace;"><span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px;"></span><br /></span></div><span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px;"><span style="font-family: Courier New, Courier, monospace;">It seems that my 2012 resolution which stated right <a href="http://www.teenierussell.com/2012/01/happy-new-year.html" target="_blank">here</a>&nbsp;that I would keep on blogging didn’t go to plan. This year, I made just the one resolution: <b>To be Organised</b>! That’s it, that’s all. Wouldn’t it be amazing if it really were that simple? I do honestly believe though, that by adding just a tiny more order to one’s home, writing, thoughts, and life makes a huge impact.</span></span><br /><div style="min-height: 14px;"><span style="font-family: Courier New, Courier, monospace;"><span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px;"></span><br /></span></div><span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px;"><span style="font-family: Courier New, Courier, monospace;">How best to tackle this resolution? Here are some thoughts from the point-of-view of someone who has fallen into some terrible habits and usually feels exhausted and deflated by the end of the day. Lack of time ends up being a far too common excuse and makes no sense when 10 levels of Angry Birds have been completed. No lack of time for games then eh?&nbsp;</span></span><br /><div style="min-height: 14px;"><span style="font-family: Courier New, Courier, monospace;"><span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px;"></span><br /></span></div><div style="min-height: 14px;"><span style="font-family: Courier New, Courier, monospace;">I recently came across the following chart and it illustrates perfectly what I'm aiming to achieve:</span></div><div style="min-height: 14px;"><span style="font-family: Courier New, Courier, monospace;"><br /></span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: Courier New, Courier, monospace;"><a href="http://gjismyp.files.wordpress.com/2012/05/mind-map-organisation.png" target="_blank"><img border="0" height="290" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-kQaNTM4cX1s/UO3X30tVlOI/AAAAAAAAAZ0/vahsWN9sDlw/s400/mind-map-organisation.png" width="400" /></a></span></div><div style="min-height: 14px;"><span style="font-family: Courier New, Courier, monospace;"><br /></span></div><div style="min-height: 14px;"><span style="font-family: Courier New, Courier, monospace;"><br /></span></div><span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px;"><span style="font-family: Courier New, Courier, monospace;">So here goes, a few steps that could help us all get there:</span></span><br /><div style="min-height: 14px;"><span style="font-family: Courier New, Courier, monospace;"><span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px;"></span><br /></span></div><span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px;"><b><span style="font-family: Courier New, Courier, monospace;">Is Your Routine Really the Best it could be?</span></b></span><br /><span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px;"><span style="font-family: Courier New, Courier, monospace;">Take a minute to write down what you do on a daily basis from the moment you wake up, or in my case, from the moment I get trampled all over and yelled at by two infants keen to have breakfast in the middle of the night! I have to be honest, some days it doesn’t feel like an awful lot but my head is spinning at the end of the day as my list of errands increases. On the plus side, I can tell you what many of my Facebook friends have been up to all day long. Sound familiar? Distraction just comes way too easily, and the less you have to do, the more distracted you’ll become and that will start to build up to the point where all errands and housekeeping snowball until you don’t dare think about it and end up with takeaway for dinner. Again! Nevermind the writing.</span></span><br /><span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px;"><span style="font-family: Courier New, Courier, monospace;">Review your routine, write an improved routine and see how that works out. (the busier you are, the more you’ll get done)</span></span><br /><div style="min-height: 14px;"><br /></div><span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px;"><b><span style="font-family: Courier New, Courier, monospace;">Remove the Distraction</span></b></span><br /><span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px;"><span style="font-family: Courier New, Courier, monospace;">If your new routine is still not working, perhaps it might be time to get rid of all distractions. As I type, a little box has popped up informing me I have new mail. That has to go, along with all other notifications! Set yourself certain times of day in your routine to check your e-mails and social networks. You do not need to see another photo of a cat doing something cute, or a baby with a face covered in chocolate! Well, at least not all day long, that can be done during your chill-out time. I’ve recently heard of people using timers to manage their workload and it sounds quite useful both for work and for leisure.&nbsp;</span></span><br /><span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px;"><span style="font-family: Courier New, Courier, monospace;"><br /></span></span><br /><div style="text-align: center;"><i><span style="background-color: #f3f3f3; color: #999999; font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: georgia, serif; letter-spacing: 0px; line-height: 18px; text-align: left;">“Motivation is what gets you started. Habit is what keeps you going.”</span><span style="font-family: georgia, serif; letter-spacing: 0px; line-height: 18px; text-align: left;">&nbsp;</span></span></i></div><span style="color: #999999; font-size: large; letter-spacing: 0.0px;"><div style="text-align: center;"><i style="background-color: #f3f3f3;"><span style="font-family: georgia, serif; letter-spacing: 0px; line-height: 18px; text-align: left;">―&nbsp;</span><a href="http://www.goodreads.com/author/show/549394.Jim_Ryun" style="font-family: georgia, serif; letter-spacing: 0px; line-height: 18px; text-align: left; text-decoration: none;">Jim Ryun</a></i></div></span><br /><div style="min-height: 14px;"><span style="font-family: Courier New, Courier, monospace;"><span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px;"></span><br /></span></div><span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px;"><b><span style="font-family: Courier New, Courier, monospace;">Keep a Calendar/ Diary</span></b></span><br /><span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px;"><span style="font-family: Courier New, Courier, monospace;">Fill it! Colour code it. If you’re quite good at using an app to help manage your schedule, great. I’m not. I add to one and then don’t look at it for a week. I now have a shiny new wall calendar and I walk past it all day, every day. It’s the best thing ever!&nbsp;</span></span><br /><span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px;"><span style="font-family: Courier New, Courier, monospace;">There’s a column for each one of us in the household and I now know where everyone needs to be and when. It’s one less thing to keep in my busy mind and at a glance I know which days/ weeks will be better for writing or just note taking.&nbsp;</span></span><br /><span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px;"><span style="font-family: Courier New, Courier, monospace;">If you love apps, I find <a href="http://evernote.com/" target="_blank">Evernote</a> really good for planning, sharing and storing information.&nbsp;</span></span><br /><div style="min-height: 14px;"><span style="font-family: Courier New, Courier, monospace;"><span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px;"></span><br /></span></div><span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px;"><b><span style="font-family: Courier New, Courier, monospace;">To-Do lists are your Friend</span></b></span><br /><span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px;"><span style="font-family: Courier New, Courier, monospace;">Don’t Keep it in Your head or there will be no room for dreams!</span></span><br /><span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px;"><span style="font-family: Courier New, Courier, monospace;">I’m a little bit anal and really do enjoy lists and spreadsheets and so far it’s been fun. Putting it all into practice will be harder, but I’m determined to make it work.</span></span><br /><div style="min-height: 14px;"><span style="font-family: Courier New, Courier, monospace;"><span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px;"></span><br /></span></div><span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px;"><span style="font-family: Courier New, Courier, monospace;">Be realistic and take it one step at a time! It sounds obvious but it might not be. Looking at my writing goals last year, they could have been more do-able had I been more specific. Rather than having a goal that says write a feature, a more achievable goal or to-do list would be:</span></span><br /><br /><ol><li><span style="letter-spacing: 0px;"><span style="font-family: Courier New, Courier, monospace;">write notes for a feature</span></span></li><li><span style="letter-spacing: 0px;"><span style="font-family: Courier New, Courier, monospace;">write a logline</span></span></li><li><span style="letter-spacing: 0px;"><span style="font-family: Courier New, Courier, monospace;">share the logline for feedback</span></span></li><li><span style="letter-spacing: 0px;"><span style="font-family: Courier New, Courier, monospace;">write a loose outline</span></span></li><li><span style="letter-spacing: 0px;"><span style="font-family: Courier New, Courier, monospace;">rewrite outline</span></span></li><li><span style="letter-spacing: 0px;"><span style="font-family: Courier New, Courier, monospace;">write a treatment (or beat sheet or whatever it is you do)</span></span></li><li><span style="letter-spacing: 0px;"><span style="font-family: Courier New, Courier, monospace;">rewrite treatment</span></span></li><li><span style="letter-spacing: 0px;"><span style="font-family: Courier New, Courier, monospace;">get notes</span></span></li><li><span style="letter-spacing: 0px;"><span style="font-family: Courier New, Courier, monospace;">write 1st draft</span></span></li></ol><br /><span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px;"><span style="font-family: Courier New, Courier, monospace;">Now that looks a lot more achievable, rather than writing a whole feature, the 1st task on my to-do list, which I can actually cross off within a realistic time frame is simply to write down notes. And ticking that box feels good! It is no longer a monster, it is no longer a task that I want to avoid and wash the dishes instead. It is a small part of a whole which I can enjoy as I haven’t set myself too high a goal all at once.</span></span><br /><span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px;"><span style="font-family: Courier New, Courier, monospace;"><br /></span></span><span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px;"><span style="font-family: Courier New, Courier, monospace;"><br /></span></span><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-2ShrdAjq4LI/UO3bdfUWwuI/AAAAAAAAAaE/_iq4t0aRma0/s1600/sink+baby.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="146" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-2ShrdAjq4LI/UO3bdfUWwuI/AAAAAAAAAaE/_iq4t0aRma0/s320/sink+baby.png" width="320" /></a></div><br /><span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px;"><b><span style="font-family: Courier New, Courier, monospace;">Empty Your Sink</span></b></span><br /><span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px;"><span style="font-family: Courier New, Courier, monospace;">That takes me into another part of my life that needs to be more organised, my home. I won’t bore you with how I’m going to achieve this without a cleaner but I have noticed that I get too distracted when the house is a mess, or worse, I feel guilty. Guilt that I have chosen to write over a list of other things that need my attention.</span></span><br /><div style="min-height: 14px;"><span style="font-family: Courier New, Courier, monospace;"><span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px;"></span><br /></span></div><span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px;"><span style="font-family: Courier New, Courier, monospace;">I will share the one great tip I got from <a href="http://www.flylady.net/d/getting-started/" target="_blank">FlyLady</a>: Always empty your sink! The longer you leave the dishes, the less motivated you are to wash your dishes. Now just try to empty the sink. Put the dishes on the stove, on the worktop, on the floor if you have to. How does that feel? Try it, it feels amazing and your dishes will get done!&nbsp;</span></span><br /><div style="min-height: 14px;"><span style="font-family: Courier New, Courier, monospace;"><span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px;"></span><br /></span></div><span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px;"><span style="font-family: Courier New, Courier, monospace;">Now try to apply that to writing, whatever your metaphorical sink might be. In the words of En Vogue “Free your mind and the rest will follow”&nbsp; Maybe your mind has too many ideas floating about, too many worries, too much baggage. Empty it! Keep an ideas book, write them down. Keep a to-do list, take note. Keep a diary, let it remind you of your meetings.&nbsp;</span></span><br /><div style="min-height: 14px;"><span style="font-family: Courier New, Courier, monospace;"><span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px;"></span><br /></span></div><span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px;"><b><span style="font-family: Courier New, Courier, monospace;">Make Time for Your loved Ones</span></b></span><br /><span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px;"><span style="font-family: Courier New, Courier, monospace;">Most important of all though, make time for your friends and family. If you need to, add it to your to-do list “Call Mum/ sister/ friend/ dog”.</span></span><br /><span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px;"><span style="font-family: Courier New, Courier, monospace;">I have made a conscious effort to put my phone away at mealtimes. It was too easy to grab it to just check something quickly during a meal and that’s not something I want my kids to be doing if they are ever allowed their own phones.&nbsp;</span></span><br /><div style="min-height: 14px;"><span style="font-family: Courier New, Courier, monospace;"><span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px;"></span><br /></span></div><div style="min-height: 14px;"><span style="font-family: Courier New, Courier, monospace;"><br /></span></div><span style="letter-spacing: 0px;"><span style="font-family: Courier New, Courier, monospace;">There you go, just a few tips on how I intend to survive this year without reaching the end with a sense of non-achievement. I just think that if you organise your life, your thoughts, you’ll be happier and those around you will too. You reflect to the outside world the energy within.</span></span>Teenie Russellhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04464060806712120012noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4068665620134715996.post-91043911864319642592012-07-06T22:58:00.001+01:002012-07-06T23:07:46.414+01:00Sitcom Pilots - Introducing Characters EarlyAfter much procrastination, the time has finally come to tear apart the script to Dead End Job (sitcom pilot), and do a massive re-write.<br /><div class="p1"><br /><span class="s1">With the <a href="http://bit.ly/LsG0g3" target="_blank">BAFTA Rocliffe Forum</a> competition deadline around the corner, we have set our deadline and hopefully the motivation and pushing force needed to get this rewrite off the ground.</span><br /><span class="s1"><br /></span></div><div class="p2"><span class="s1"></span></div><div class="p1"><span class="s1">The pilot has been sitting in the ‘drawer’ for a good half year since receiving some great and very useful feedback and now <a href="http://tarorussell.com/" target="_blank">Taro</a> and I are finally ready to tackle it - we have a board, post-it notes, and most of all, lots of notes and ideas on how to make it stronger.</span><br /><span class="s1"><br /></span></div><div class="p2"><span class="s1"></span></div><div class="p1"><span class="s1">One of the feedbacks we received was that our first scene only establishes a couple of the main characters and one of the ‘rules’ of sitcoms is to introduce all the main players right at the beginning, so adding a new character half-way through could be confusing.</span></div><div class="p1"><span class="s1"><br /></span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-nxhG70MTaSw/T_dblc1lGFI/AAAAAAAAAWQ/Hi8HMKVqApI/s1600/220px-Taxi_title_screen.jpeg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="235" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-nxhG70MTaSw/T_dblc1lGFI/AAAAAAAAAWQ/Hi8HMKVqApI/s320/220px-Taxi_title_screen.jpeg" width="320" /></a></div><div class="p2"><span class="s1"></span></div><div class="p1"><span class="s1"><br /></span><span class="s1">I read somewhere that the pilot for <a href="http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0077089/" target="_blank"><i>Taxi</i></a> managed to do this in a very creative way, by having a broken phone from which people could call anywhere they wished for free, we got a glimpse into all the characters, whilst still adding a little drama when Alex calls his daughter, whom he hadn’t seen or heard from in 15 years.</span><br /><span class="s1"><br /></span></div><div class="p1"><span class="s1">I recently watched the pilot to <i>Friends</i> and that was pretty excellent too, and if you haven’t watched it during one of the many re-plays, I recommend watching it right away. Now. Go!</span><span class="s1"><br /></span><br /><span class="s1">Right, so as you hopefully noticed, we get introduced to all the characters from the go and through very clear dialogue, get a sense of their identity, all this whilst also setting up the Ross and Rachel saga that will carry the series through 10 seasons.</span><br /><br /></div><div class="p1"><span class="s1">Based on that, how can Taro and I make our characters stronger and immediately tell our audience who these people are and what they are searching for?&nbsp;</span></div><div class="p2"><span class="s1"></span></div><div class="p1"><span class="s1"><br /></span><span class="s1">Before we start re-writing, and this is not procrastinating, it’s research, we have decided that we will be watching as many sitcom pilots as possible in the next week or two. Coincidentally, look what just popped up on my Twitter feed this week:</span></div><div class="p1"><span class="s1"><br /></span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-1lzranu8EYQ/T_db5iQoIGI/AAAAAAAAAWY/JjgPikjgcxU/s1600/Screen+Shot+2012-07-06+at+22.26.11.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="69" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-1lzranu8EYQ/T_db5iQoIGI/AAAAAAAAAWY/JjgPikjgcxU/s400/Screen+Shot+2012-07-06+at+22.26.11.png" width="400" /></a></div><div class="p1"><br /></div><div class="p1"><span class="s1">I took the opportunity to <a href="http://storify.com/teenierussell/bitter-script-reader-on-pilots-comedy-vs-drama" target="_blank">Storify</a>&nbsp;the interesting conversation that followed between <a href="https://twitter.com/#!/BittrScrptReadr" target="_blank">Bitter Script Reader</a> and his followers on Twitter.</span></div><div class="p1"><br><span class="s1">Lots of food for thought, and hopefully the more pilots we watch, the more we’ll start to see a pattern emerge and if we’re lucky it will be so engraved in our memories that writing might as well just happen by Osmosis.&nbsp;</span></div><div class="p1"><span class="s1"><br /></span></div><div class="p1"><span class="s1">Feel free to make me any Sitcom recommendations, it would also be great to watch some that maybe break the rules and are still great.</span></div><div class="p2"><span class="s1"></span></div>Teenie Russellhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04464060806712120012noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4068665620134715996.post-49399830126557154492012-06-15T22:41:00.000+01:002012-06-19T17:46:00.083+01:00Writing Opportunities and Competitions<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"></div>It’s that time again when there are various scriptwriting competitions open for submissions and there seems to be something for everyone, so if competitions are your thing, here is a list of what I’ve come across:<br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"></div><div class="p1"><span class="s1"><br /></span><br /><div style="text-align: center;"><span class="s1"><b>London Screenwriters' Festival</b></span></div></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://www.londonscreenwritersfestival.com/50-kisses/" target="_blank"><img border="0" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/--vBUiR8sn3M/T9ueffxdnPI/AAAAAAAAAUo/Z9n8XZT9VC4/s1600/50+kisses+logo2.jpg" /></a></div><b></b><br /><div style="text-align: center;"><b><b>Deadline: June 29th</b></b></div><b></b><br /><div><br /></div><div><br /><div style="text-align: center;"><b>Kaos Films</b></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://www.blogger.com/goog_203327917"><img border="0" height="200" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-cJtHjTWLsME/T9ugBfP1QYI/AAAAAAAAAVA/gUfFN5S5_RY/s200/kaos+bssc+2012+logob.gif" width="200" /></a></div><b></b><br /><div style="text-align: center;"><b><b>Deadline: July 6th</b></b></div><b></b></div><div><br /><div style="text-align: center;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: center;"><b>The Bitch Pack</b></div></div><div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://thebitchpack.wordpress.com/partnership-project-with-shriekfest/" target="_blank"><img border="0" height="80" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-vzlBZpTb8LY/T-CrTwbqprI/AAAAAAAAAVs/A6XmGjnSEgc/s320/Shriekfest+banner.jpeg" width="320" /></a></div><div style="text-align: center;"><b>Deadline: July 10th</b></div><br /><br /><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://www.justeffing.com/2011-screenwriting-competition/" target="_blank"><img border="0" height="200" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-SII471nkSok/T9ugj1b4UxI/AAAAAAAAAVI/yaNW1GGDpEw/s200/justeffingcontest.png" width="198" /></a></div><b></b><br /><div style="text-align: center;"><b><b>Deadline: July 12th</b></b></div><b></b></div><div><br /></div><div><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://awards.screenwritinggoldmine.com/" target="_blank"><img border="0" height="32" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-wxTFGvDj4S4/T9ug6sp82MI/AAAAAAAAAVQ/54LaL4fGUFY/s320/goldmine+logo725x80.png" width="320" /></a></div><b></b><br /><div style="text-align: center;"><b><b>Regular Deadline: July 5th &nbsp;Final Deadline: July 12th</b></b></div><b></b><br /><div style="text-align: center;"><b><b><br /></b></b></div><b></b><br /><div style="text-align: center;"><b><b><br /></b></b></div><b></b><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://www.rocliffe.com/how_to_submit.html" target="_blank"><img border="0" height="74" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-PYqNN3AsLLo/T9uhf1R5ZoI/AAAAAAAAAVY/bINnuopcDTI/s320/rocliffe.png" width="320" /></a></div><b></b><br /><div style="text-align: center;"><b><b>Early Deadline: June 22nd &nbsp;Final Deadline: July 27th</b></b></div><b></b></div><div><br /></div><div><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://www.bluecatscreenplay.com/" target="_blank"><img border="0" height="85" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-8X-raeSDz-s/T9uh4o50OjI/AAAAAAAAAVg/qX5w_Sq7Yws/s320/bluecat+logo.png" width="320" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><b>Early: July 1st &nbsp;Regular: October 15th &nbsp;Final: November 15th</b></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><b><br /></b></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><b><br /></b></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">As I was preparing to put this post together, I came across a comprehensive spreadsheet of competitions put together by <a href="https://twitter.com/#!/KulvinderGill" target="_blank">Kulvinder Gill</a>, it includes the above and many more. You can view the list here.</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">Finally, the <a href="http://www.bbc.co.uk/writersroom/opportunities" target="_blank">BBC Writersroom</a> keep a current list of writing opportunities on their website.</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">If you know of any other current or upcoming competitions or opportunities, please feel free to list it below.&nbsp;</div><br /><div class="p1" style="text-align: center;"><span class="s1"><br /></span></div></div>Teenie Russellhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04464060806712120012noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4068665620134715996.post-20592584689108570912012-03-07T12:31:00.001+00:002012-03-07T14:17:14.864+00:00I Propose a Challenge<div class="MsoNormal">It is now March, 3 months into a new year and I’ve been nowhere as productive as I’d like to have been. At the beginning of last year, hardly a day went by when I wasn’t writing and by the end of April I had completed 2x sitcoms, one feature, and had blogged 3-4 times a month. So far this year, I have done a lot of reading, even more thinking, but very little writing; blogging has also slowed down drastically.<o:p></o:p></div><div class="MsoNormal"><br /></div><div class="MsoNormal">I've always worked better to deadlines and without any in sight, I have decided I need a challenge. To all of you out there who need the extra motivation, I propose the “<a href="http://www.teenierussell.com/p/page-day-challenge.html" target="_blank">A Page A Day Challenge</a>”.&nbsp;<o:p></o:p></div><div class="MsoNormal"><br /></div><div class="MsoNormal">It is very simple and is exactly what it says on the label: write a page a day.</div><div class="MsoNormal"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-BfIaeoeScok/T1dG_1_uqAI/AAAAAAAAASU/TZcYeVGxf74/s1600/page+a+day+label.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="271" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-BfIaeoeScok/T1dG_1_uqAI/AAAAAAAAASU/TZcYeVGxf74/s320/page+a+day+label.jpg" width="320" /></a></div><div class="MsoNormal"><br /></div><div class="MsoNormal"><br /></div><div class="MsoNormal"><br /></div><div class="MsoNormal">I realise one page a day doesn't sound very helpful, especially for those of you who aim to write 4 pages or more a day.&nbsp;How often though do we procrastinate the writing because we don't have the time, only to find that we've spent half an hour on Twitter or Facebook instead?&nbsp;However, if you do sit down thinking just one page, chances are by the end of the page you'll be in the zone and just carry on without even thinking about it. See what I've done there?</div><div class="MsoNormal"><br /></div><div class="MsoNormal">It's like when you sign up to the gym and never go; the minute you've passed the barrier of actually getting there and changing into your sweats, you might as well work out for an hour rather than 10minutes and it's always really invigorating.</div><div class="MsoNormal"><br /></div><div class="MsoNormal">So, if like me you need a challenge, just follow the link&nbsp;<a href="http://www.teenierussell.com/p/page-day-challenge.html" target="_blank">A Page A Day Challenge</a> and join in the fun - because writing is fun!&nbsp;</div><div class="MsoNormal"><br /></div>Teenie Russellhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04464060806712120012noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4068665620134715996.post-14984196227025688972012-01-20T14:16:00.000+00:002012-01-20T14:16:03.792+00:00Life's a PitchMy mind has slowed down dramatically, although perhaps it’s always been slow. Not sure how I used to be an A+ student when I really struggle to hold a conversation these days. I find myself having full conversations in my mind of what I should have said, or even just a funnier punch line. If first impressions count, I’m doing a terrible job. I do remember being able to give snappy quick replies to people but those days are long gone. Am I out of practice after spending the best of four years holding conversations with toddlers who just laugh when I try to talk politics with them? Oh no, I remember, I never was any good at that. Sadly, I can’t blame the children. I might have a very logical mind and a creative flair, but as I’ve pointed out in a previous post, I could never do stand-up. In fact, I could never rule a country; unless my speeches were all prepared and rehearsed beforehand, I would most likely stutter, never mind answering all those press questions. Actually, perhaps I could rule a country…<br /><div class="MsoNormal"><o:p></o:p></div><div class="MsoNormal"><br /></div><div class="MsoNormal"><br /><br /><br /></div><div class="MsoNormal"><br /></div><div class="MsoNormal">Yes, sorry, back. I was busy imagining what I would do if I ruled the world. Probably start telling writers what they should be writing about rather than worry about the state of the economy, health and education. <o:p></o:p></div><div class="MsoNormal"><br /></div><div class="MsoNormal">The reason I worry about how I present myself to others is the fact that I’ve recently had two rather interesting experiences: networking and pitching. <o:p></o:p></div><div class="MsoNormal">Surely we should all be brilliant at both really. What are they if not selling yourself and an idea? And unless you want to appear to be someone you’re not, then just being yourself should suffice. That’s the problem really; I’m socially awkward. <o:p></o:p></div><div class="MsoNormal"><br /></div><div class="MsoNormal"><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/38001345@N05/3778286908/" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;" title="Untitled by blucerchiati, on Flickr"><img alt="" height="320" src="http://farm4.staticflickr.com/3446/3778286908_8293abeb0d.jpg" width="320" /></a></div><o:p><br /></o:p></div><div class="MsoNormal"><o:p><br /></o:p></div><div class="MsoNormal">Generally, I’m not a shy person and feel that I do a good job at approaching someone I’ve not met before and start up a conversation. But that’s where it all goes wrong, the content of the conversation. It’s possibly a fear of that awkward silence and in my attempt not to have those gaps where suddenly the other person remembers they need the toilet or another drink that I start to blurb. I ask stupid questions, make silly remarks or just go off on an unnecessary tangent boring myself, never mind the other person. I should have accepted the gap. The gap is a natural part of any conversation where it allows the other person to gather their thoughts too. Maybe if I allow for the gap to happen, they might get a chance to talk too thus continuing the conversation, but now, I’ve lost them, and I just want to dig a hole and hide. Thankfully, there are always those with whom the conversation flows, the gaps go unnoticed and the night is a success. So here’s a tip to myself, and others: networking is about finding people you can build relationships with, and unless it’s a natural process, it’s not going to happen. So note to self, take a deep breath and let it flow.<o:p></o:p></div><div class="MsoNormal"><br /></div><div class="MsoNormal">When it comes to pitching, I take it like a job interview, and just like the interviews I’ve had, unless I know inside out what I am talking about and in fact am passionate about the job I’m up for, I won’t cut it. I’ve had some really good interviews in the past, some that felt more like conversations between friends, but the pitches I had a few months ago were nothing like that. They were in fact terrifying. It all came down to one thing though, I didn’t have any good answers, I clearly hadn’t done my homework and didn’t know my story or characters as well as I should have. I went in for the experience and came out enlightened. I knew what I had to do to make this programme 10x stronger, and I found out that if I’m going to play this game I need to learn how to pitch. Having an interesting story to tell with strong characters is definitely a good start, but knowing the audience, why it’s different, interesting, and most of all, why it needs to be made will get you a lot further. Knowing who you are pitching to though, will also make a huge difference. <o:p></o:p></div><div class="MsoNormal"><br /></div><div class="MsoNormal">That could have been the worse pitch, but really, it’s when you (and by that I mean me) find yourself in front of a producer and decide you’re going to pitch them a script. You blurt it out and then realise you haven’t thought this through. Now remember how I said at the start that my mind has slowed down and my memory just fails? Well, having not prepared this at all, and in fact not even looked at the script for a few months, I blanked on the ending, the most important part of the script. The whole story built up to this one point and I could not remember a thing, one single detail! Of course, as I sat in the train home that night, I could have pitched it to any stranger. I knew it inside out, but pressure or time limitation makes me draw a blank, the kind of blank that I have when bumping into someone I know well unexpectedly and suddenly don’t remember their name – yes, that’s happened twice.<o:p></o:p></div><div class="MsoNormal"><br /></div><div class="MsoNormal">If like me you’re getting senile a lot earlier than expected, then make sure that you pause. There is no need to rush through conversations and pitches. Take your time. If you know there’s a chance you’ll be pitching to someone, prepare. The blurted out pitch I did? There really was no reason why I should have pitched at all. I could have just had a friendly chat and then approached him again at a later time with a stronger pitch. You rarely get those chances twice so don’t waste them.<o:p></o:p><br /><br /><br /><i>Here are a couple of useful links on the do and don't of pitching:</i><br /><br /><ul><li><a href="http://www.scriptmag.com/features/balls-of-steel-first-impressions-2" target="_blank">First Impressions</a> by Jeanne Veillette Bowerman on her column Balls of Steel for Scriptmag.com</li><li><a href="http://www.bang2write.com/2007/04/required-reading-best-screenwriting.html#prep" target="_blank">Preparation and Pitching </a>- a list of must-read links on the subject compiled by Lucy V Hay on her blog Bang2write.com</li></ul><br /><br /><br /></div>Teenie Russellhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04464060806712120012noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4068665620134715996.post-72426833440432958812012-01-17T11:31:00.000+00:002012-01-17T11:31:48.693+00:00Happy New Year!<div class="MsoNormal">It’s been too long since I last posted on this blog and I am fixing that right now.</div><div class="MsoNormal"><br /></div><div class="MsoNormal">As much as I’ve been eager to write for the last couple of months, life happened and writing just didn’t fit into the madness.</div><div class="MsoNormal"><o:p></o:p></div><div class="MsoNormal"><br /></div><div class="MsoNormal">Thankfully though I’m back. A little late to the game, but January isn’t over yet, so my writing goals for this year start now.<o:p></o:p></div><div class="MsoNormal"><br /></div><div class="MsoNormal">My goals:</div><div class="MsoNormal"></div><ul><li><span style="text-indent: -18pt;"><b>Keep a blog</b> – even if it’s not a script, it keeps my mind thinking, keeps me ticking and most of all, keeps me writing</span></li><li><span style="text-indent: -18pt;"><b>Finish a sitcom</b> – I got some very constructive feedback on Dead End Job last year but never got a chance to re-write – that needs to change.</span></li><li><span style="text-indent: -18pt;"><b>Film a short</b> – I think it’s finally time to focus on one short and take it to the next level.</span></li><li><span style="text-indent: -18pt;"><b>Write a feature</b> – After completing a feature last year during Scriptfrenzy, I am looking forward to doing it all over again, but this time with a little more prep and a better outline</span></li><li><span style="text-indent: -18pt;"><b>Plan out a webseries</b> – possibly too ambitious to fit this into the year, but I’ve got an idea that’s been brewing for over a year and need to get at least a draft and a plan down on paper.</span></li><li><span style="text-indent: -18pt;"><b>Collaborate</b> – not only would I like others to get involved in some of the above, but I also hope to get involved in other people’s projects. The one thing I have already done this year is read other writers’ scripts. I plan on doing a lot more of this and getting involved in filmmaking.</span></li><li><span style="text-indent: -18pt;"><b>Read more</b> – scripts, books, articles, anything. Just keep reading, learning, getting inspired</span></li><li><span style="text-indent: -18pt;"><b>Dream on</b> – whilst I still have the power of imagination and am able to with simple thoughts create intricate and fantastical worlds in my mind, anything is possible!</span></li></ul><br /><div class="MsoNormal">Overall, I aim to have fun and enjoy my family and as long as we’re all still laughing together, everything else can always be, in true writer fashion, procrastinated.<o:p></o:p></div><div class="MsoNormal"><br /></div><div class="MsoNormal">What are your goals and what are you going to do about it?&nbsp;</div><!--EndFragment-->Teenie Russellhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04464060806712120012noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4068665620134715996.post-62451980257070879882011-11-02T13:16:00.001+00:002011-11-02T17:08:10.401+00:00LSWF - A Weekend to RememberIt’s been three days since the <a href="http://www.londonscreenwritersfestival.com/ehome/index.php?eventid=27766&amp;">London Screenwriters’Festival</a> wrapped and I still have a stupid grin on my face.<br /><div class="MsoNormal"><o:p></o:p></div><div class="MsoNormal"><br /></div><div class="MsoNormal">I was planning on writing a long review of the weekend, but all I really need to say is:<o:p></o:p></div><div class="MsoNormal">“Wow! That was amazing!” Yes, with all the exclamation marks included, and more!!!<o:p></o:p></div><div class="MsoNormal"><br /></div><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-VBflwVbUx-U/TrFCMua95yI/AAAAAAAAAQs/4M89fJH5-JY/s1600/Chris+Jones.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="240" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-VBflwVbUx-U/TrFCMua95yI/AAAAAAAAAQs/4M89fJH5-JY/s320/Chris+Jones.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Chris Jones</td></tr></tbody></table><div class="MsoNormal"><br /></div><div class="MsoNormal"><br /></div><div class="MsoNormal">So thank you to <a href="http://www.chrisjonesblog.com/">Chris Jones</a> and all members of staff and volunteers that worked incredibly hard; thank you to all the speakers and guests that made time to contribute to the festival; and thank you to all other delegates whether writer, producer, director, agent, other or sympathizer. The knowledge and confidence boost I gained from joining in on the sessions, the workshops, script chat, speedpitching, general yattering and controlled binging is invaluable.<o:p></o:p></div><div class="MsoNormal"><br /></div><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-fMalenC3m-8/TrFBDF3E2zI/AAAAAAAAAQk/593EKOf1NyY/s1600/David+Reynolds.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="320" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-fMalenC3m-8/TrFBDF3E2zI/AAAAAAAAAQk/593EKOf1NyY/s320/David+Reynolds.jpg" width="240" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">In Conversation with David Reynolds</td></tr></tbody></table><div class="MsoNormal"><o:p><br /></o:p></div><div class="MsoNormal"><o:p><br /></o:p></div><div class="MsoNormal"><b>My highlight</b> – Pitching Dead End Job to <a href="http://londonscreenwritersfestival.com/ehome/index.php?eventid=27766&amp;tabid=43190&amp;cid=140179&amp;speakerid=33879">David Reynolds</a> and have him brainstorm ideas on how I could develop the sitcom further. He even gave one of the characters 12 children. Most of all, he encouraged me to keep on working on the script and topped it all by adding that he really liked the setting.<o:p></o:p></div><div class="MsoNormal"><br /></div><div class="MsoNormal"><b>My lowlight</b> – Having to sneak out of the<a href="http://londonscreenwritersfestival.com/ehome/index.php?eventid=27766&amp;tabid=43190&amp;cid=140179&amp;speakerid=33880"> Joe Cornish</a> session to make my way home very early due to other commitments. I definitely made up for it on the second and third days.<o:p></o:p></div><div class="MsoNormal"><br /></div><div class="MsoNormal">The main lesson learned this weekend is that you can make your own luck. Work hard, go for it, don’t stop at the first hurdle and just keep writing! <o:p></o:p></div><div class="MsoNormal"><br /></div><div class="MsoNormal">The festival may be over, but this is just the beginning.<o:p></o:p></div>Teenie Russellhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04464060806712120012noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4068665620134715996.post-20367036652417897012011-10-28T21:57:00.000+01:002011-10-28T21:57:56.026+01:00LSWF DAY 1 - A Mini AdventureAnd so it begins! I'm home from a great 1st day at the <a href="http://www.londonscreenwritersfestival.com/ehome/LSF2011/43185/?&amp;">London Screenwriters' Festival</a>.<br /><br />Today has been a short day for me, so I made the most of it. After walking around the building for half an hour, completely lost, I finally found my bearings and the main room where <a href="http://londonscreenwritersfestival.com/ehome/index.php?eventid=27766&amp;tabid=43190&amp;cid=140179&amp;speakerid=33651">Chris Jones</a>, the festival director, was saying a final word and welcome. <br /><br />From that point on, there were about four sessions taking place at the same time, a tough choice at times. The first session I headed for was&nbsp;<a href="http://www.londonscreenwritersfestival.com/ehome/index.php?eventid=27766&amp;tabid=43717&amp;cid=148842&amp;sessionid=1355902&amp;sessionchoice=1">Cut! Cut! Cut! with Ellin Stein</a>.&nbsp;It was an interesting session where we all got a chance to read a few pages of someone else's script and together understand what did or didn't work and why. <br /><br />An hour later and I was headed to my script surgery session with The Doctor - Paul Gallagher. The Euroscript clinic set up at the festival was fantastic. Paul was really good at helping me view Dead End Job, the latest sitcom <a href="http://twitter.com/#!/taroj">Taro</a> and I have been writing together, from a different perspective. Together we talked about what worked, what didn't and all the different options, including a change in character gender. I have much work to do on it now and extra preparation for my speedpitching session on Sunday.<br /><br />After lunch I had the luck of getting into the very popular session with <a href="http://www.imdb.com/name/nm0942367/">Edgar Wright</a>. That's right, Edgar Wright! A funny and inspiring man, who's making it happen. Not long after he had his 1st feature A Fistful of Fingers started showing at the Prince Charles cinema, he met Matt Lucas and David Walliams. After watching his movie, they asked him to work with them as director. He ended up directing TV and not long after got involved with Spaced. He started talks with Simon Pegg about Shaun of the Dead in 1999, and it took another 3 years after they wrapped on Spaced to get it made. Meanwhile, Danny Boyle made 28 Days Later and Dawn of the Dead was going to be re-made, a set-back but thankfully not a deterrent. I could go on and on. But let's just say, I'm a fan! Towards the end of his session Joe Cornish walked in to join the audience, and I caught a glimpse of the man I would be watching next.<br /><br />Many of you may have heard of <a href="http://www.imdb.com/name/nm0180428/">Joe Cornish</a> from his appearances on TV and radio with Adam Buxton. Together they did The Adam and Joe Show which was always very funny. During his session, Joe talked mainly about his debut feature Attack the Block. Not being down with the kids, he had to do extensive research into how they spoke, acted, lived and also how they relate to others in different situations. He also talked about different type of monster movies and decided he wanted to do one where they scare you due to volume, rather than looks. It was interesting to hear about all the research that went into the movie before he even wrote it all down. We then got to hear a little about <a href="http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0983193/fullcredits#writers">Tintin</a> and his involvement in it as well as working with Stephen Spielberg. Overall Joe came across as a very humble person, which made him even more likeable and admirable. <br /><br />Sadly I had to leave before the end of that session missing out on the rest of the day and the networking drinks, but that's ok, I'll be back for more tomorrow. For now I'll be carving some pumpkins.Teenie Russellhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04464060806712120012noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4068665620134715996.post-52076332251062594032011-10-19T11:26:00.000+01:002011-10-19T11:26:20.331+01:00Getting Ready for the LSWF<!--[if gte mso 9]><xml> <o:OfficeDocumentSettings> <o:AllowPNG/> </o:OfficeDocumentSettings> </xml><![endif]--> <!--[if gte mso 9]><xml> <w:WordDocument> <w:View>Normal</w:View> <w:Zoom>0</w:Zoom> <w:TrackMoves/> <w:TrackFormatting/> <w:PunctuationKerning/> <w:ValidateAgainstSchemas/> <w:SaveIfXMLInvalid>false</w:SaveIfXMLInvalid> <w:IgnoreMixedContent>false</w:IgnoreMixedContent> <w:AlwaysShowPlaceholderText>false</w:AlwaysShowPlaceholderText> <w:DoNotPromoteQF/> <w:LidThemeOther>EN-GB</w:LidThemeOther> <w:LidThemeAsian>JA</w:LidThemeAsian> <w:LidThemeComplexScript>X-NONE</w:LidThemeComplexScript> <w:Compatibility> <w:BreakWrappedTables/> <w:SnapToGridInCell/> <w:WrapTextWithPunct/> <w:UseAsianBreakRules/> 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table.MsoNormalTable {mso-style-name:"Table Normal"; mso-tstyle-rowband-size:0; mso-tstyle-colband-size:0; mso-style-noshow:yes; mso-style-priority:99; mso-style-parent:""; mso-padding-alt:0cm 5.4pt 0cm 5.4pt; mso-para-margin:0cm; mso-para-margin-bottom:.0001pt; mso-pagination:widow-orphan; font-size:10.0pt; font-family:"Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-language:JA;} </style> <![endif]--> <!--StartFragment--> <br /><div class="MsoNormal">I am getting ready to attend the London Screenwriters’ Festival and intend to make the most of it. There are many things that can be done in advance of the Festival to make sure you are as prepared as possible. <o:p></o:p></div><div class="MsoNormal"><br /></div><div class="MsoNormal">Here is what I’ve done so far:<o:p></o:p></div><div class="MsoNormal"><br /></div><div class="MsoNormal"><b>Private Network </b>– The minute I purchased my ticket, I got invited to join a private network where I could interact and chat to other festival-goers months before the event. I joined the network, added my details, and most importantly made sure I added friends and got involved in some of the behind the scenes activities. New people join daily and it’s never too late to join. The network will keep on going after the festival, so it’s somewhere to catch up with all those new contacts you made and those you missed! <o:p></o:p></div><div class="MsoNormal"><br /></div><div class="MsoNormal"><b>Speedpitching</b> – I filled in the form and signed up, so hopefully I’ll get a chance to pitch my TV Comedy to three different producers, agents, and commissioners. In anticipation of the event, many people have shared their knowledge and links towards pitching best practice, so there’s no excuse not to be prepared.<o:p></o:p></div><div class="MsoNormal"><br /></div><div class="MsoNormal"><b>Euroscript Clinic</b> – I have signed up and have booked a free session where my script (the same TV Comedy) will be thoroughly analysed by a script doctor. The surgery is a 50minutes one-on-one session with your own script doctor who can either talk to you about an existing project or even just about your writing career – so get booking!<o:p></o:p></div><div class="MsoNormal"><br /></div><div class="MsoNormal"><b>Business Cards </b>– All ordered in good time, just anxiously waiting for the postman to bring them. From what I’ve read numerous times, these are a must, so make sure you have some!<o:p></o:p></div><div class="MsoNormal"><br /></div><div class="MsoNormal">So now what? Yes, practice that pitch over and over and over and some more.<o:p></o:p></div><div class="MsoNormal"><br /></div><div class="MsoNormal">If you haven’t got your ticket yet, they are almost gone, so hurry up! You can click <a href="http://www.teenierussell.com/2011/09/london-swf-1-month-countdown.html">here</a> for a £30 off discount code.<o:p></o:p></div><div class="MsoNormal"><br /></div><span style="font-family: &quot;Times New Roman&quot;; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-ansi-language: EN-GB; mso-bidi-language: AR-SA; mso-fareast-font-family: &quot;ＭＳ 明朝&quot;; mso-fareast-language: EN-US; mso-fareast-theme-font: minor-fareast;">Hope to see you there.</span><!--EndFragment-->Teenie Russellhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04464060806712120012noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4068665620134715996.post-34475580904188410652011-10-05T13:37:00.000+01:002011-10-05T13:37:19.572+01:00The Unknown Beast - Writing Horror for the First Time<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-ya_2EHxqOnM/ToxMKXkluyI/AAAAAAAAAQA/K219irmYCQM/s1600/bkgd_horror_top.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="130" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-ya_2EHxqOnM/ToxMKXkluyI/AAAAAAAAAQA/K219irmYCQM/s400/bkgd_horror_top.png" width="400" /></a></div><br /><div class="MsoNormal"><br /></div><div class="MsoNormal">Horror is a genre I’ve never thought of writing before. I’m easily scared and often close my eyes whilst watching a horror movie.<o:p></o:p></div><div class="MsoNormal"><br /></div><div class="MsoNormal">Recently though, the London Screenwriters’ Festival announced a <a href="http://www.londonscreenwritersfestival.com/ehome/LSF2011/tweetfest/?&amp;">logline competition</a>. The objective was to write a logline for a Horror film in 140 characters on Twitter and the winner would get a ticket to the festival.<o:p></o:p></div><div class="MsoNormal">A free ticket is always welcome, so I thought I’d give it a go. Each person could enter up to three loglines, and boy did I find it HARD. Most of the ones I thought of either already existed or just sounded funny rather than scary. In the end, I just about managed to come up with two, and much to my surprise, one of them made it to the 25 shortlisted loglines! <o:p></o:p></div><div class="MsoNormal"><br /></div><div class="MsoNormal">This was it: <i>“<span style="color: #444444;">When a magic lamp is discovered in a small town, all of their deepest wishes are about to come true with deadly consequences</span>”</i><o:p></o:p></div><div class="MsoNormal"><br /></div><div class="MsoNormal">This was my other entry (a rather gory one): <i>“<span style="color: #444444;">When a legless man due for surgery discovers his Doctor's secret toy collection, he must escape or become Jack in the Box”</span></i><o:p></o:p></div><div class="MsoNormal"><br /></div><div class="MsoNormal">In order to come up with the loglines, I thought of entire stories and characters. So even though all I have for now is a logline, a little voice inside is considering developing it into an outline and treatment and take it from there.<o:p></o:p></div><div class="MsoNormal"><br /></div><div class="MsoNormal"><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-yVdU-kn6qw4/ToxMbKNohWI/AAAAAAAAAQE/0QjYnIYgQKw/s1600/horror+typewriter.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-yVdU-kn6qw4/ToxMbKNohWI/AAAAAAAAAQE/0QjYnIYgQKw/s320/horror+typewriter.jpg" width="248" /></a></div><br /></div><div class="MsoNormal"><br /></div><div class="MsoNormal">Following on from that, another competition came up. This time it was the chance to write a “Campfire Story”, in other words, a scary tale. I thought I’d give it a go. Even though it’s not a genre I’m used to, it sounded like it could be fun and exciting to write it up. But I was stuck. I came up with many ideas, wrote a couple of outlines, but nothing seemed to be working too well. <o:p></o:p></div><div class="MsoNormal"><br /></div><div class="MsoNormal">I decided to think of the films I’ve seen and what’s generally the story. Many of them seem to have the same ‘idea’ – Victim is stuck somewhere with no escape and is trying to find a way out (a house/ a room/ a forest/ a spaceship…) besides that there is something or someone threatening them within, hindering their escape. Here are some examples:</div><div class="MsoNormal"></div><ul><li>The Descent – stuck in a cave, trying to find a way out, to make things worse, something is after them.</li><li>Blair Witch/ Predator – lost in a forest, trying to find a way out, to make things worse, something is after them.</li><li>Alien / Jason X – stuck on a spacecraft, trying to find a way out, to make things worse, something is after them.</li><li>Evil Dead / Panic Room – stuck in a house, trying to find a way out, to make things worse, something is after them.</li></ul><br /><div class="MsoNormal">There are many variations of the above and it’s not true for every horror, but it works for me as a first time horror writer. It seemed like a good place to start.<o:p></o:p></div><div class="MsoNormal"><br /></div><div class="MsoNormal">Next, I had to figure out, who or what is the threat:</div><div class="MsoNormal"></div><ul><li>Alien</li><li>Animal</li><li>Mutation</li><li>Supernatural</li><li>Human Being</li></ul><br /><div class="MsoNormal">Again, the above isn’t an exhaustive list and the “monster” could be a combination of some. As you’ve probably realised by now, I am no expert in horror. <o:p></o:p></div><div class="MsoNormal"><br /></div><div class="MsoNormal">Trying to figure out which one to go with, I was asked what scares me the most, and after some thought, I concluded that people do.<o:p></o:p></div><div class="MsoNormal"><br /></div><div class="MsoNormal">The above alone was not enough, I kept thinking of stories that already exist, and then I remembered reading again and again that many ideas are the same, you just need to re-invent them. When I first read this, I started to imagine various fairy tales from different perspectives, and in fact, that’s exactly what’s been done in movies such as Shrek and The Hunter.<o:p></o:p></div><div class="MsoNormal"><br /></div><div class="MsoNormal">I was suddenly on a roll and started to re-imagine several fairy tales and nursery rhymes. I had my story. <o:p></o:p></div><div class="MsoNormal"><br /></div><div class="MsoNormal">It still wasn’t enough though and again I was stuck. I knew the beginning and the end, but how to get from A to B? After writing about three different versions, none of which were quite working, I realised I was forgetting to set my limits. As <a href="http://2011.londonscreenwritersfestival.com/blog/three-tricks-of-the-trade-for-getting-ideas/">Linda Aronson (writer of the 21stCentury Screenwriter) suggests</a>, find the restrictions of the assignment.<o:p></o:p></div><div class="MsoNormal"><br /></div><div class="MsoNormal">So I started over. I looked back at what I had and why they didn’t work and started from scratch. I limited my location, number of characters and props. Suddenly it fell into place. With one contained location, rather than several, it all became neater and more focused. I could focus on the characters and the story rather than the action. Not only was the end result a tighter, punchier script, it is now also a low-budget script. <o:p></o:p></div><div class="MsoNormal"><br /></div><div class="MsoNormal"><br /></div><div class="MsoNormal">I am not convinced the result is a true horror, or if it’s at all scary, but it is definitely dark and there is something very creepy about the ‘monster’.<o:p></o:p></div><div class="MsoNormal"><br /></div>Teenie Russellhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04464060806712120012noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4068665620134715996.post-74252380875842068762011-09-27T13:09:00.001+01:002011-10-07T10:22:25.664+01:00London SWF<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-rTfY_Fa32AM/ToG8o2CFlXI/AAAAAAAAAP8/_s4ZBbuA6hE/s1600/lsf-2011-logo.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-rTfY_Fa32AM/ToG8o2CFlXI/AAAAAAAAAP8/_s4ZBbuA6hE/s1600/lsf-2011-logo.png" /></a></div><br /><br />In a month's time I'll be getting ready to set off to Regent's College to attend the 2nd <a href="http://www.londonscreenwritersfestival.com/ehome/LSF2011/43185/?&amp;">London Screenwriters' Festival</a>. I have heard nothing but praise by the people who attended last year and can't wait to attend.<br /><br />The event takes place from the 28th-30th of October, three days packed with over 100 speakers and 70 sessions, not to mention 400 writers and producers.<br /><br />I am really looking forward to listening to industry experts from all areas, but more than anything, it'll be an amazing opportunity to network with other fellow writers at all different levels. Not to mention that I might get the chance to pitch my comedy to agents and producers at a free Speed Pitching session!<br /><br />Meanwhile, my writing partner and husband, Taro Russell, will be on baby sitting duty. I think he'll need all of our thoughts to get through the weekend :-)<br /><br /><br />If you haven't bought your ticket yet, you can sign up <a href="https://www.eiseverywhere.com/ereg/newreg.php?eventid=27766"><b>here</b></a>. For <span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: red;"><b>£30 off</b></span>, used <b>discount code:</b> <b>2385127</b> in the discount box.Teenie Russellhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04464060806712120012noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4068665620134715996.post-47126593081239609262011-09-22T14:48:00.000+01:002011-09-22T14:48:18.129+01:00Georgia On My MindThis week I have Horror on my mind. <br /><br />My post was in fact going to be about writing Horror scripts, the different types of Horror movies and the different “monsters”. In trying to figure out a story, my husband Taro Russell told me to think of what scares me the most. After some thought, I concluded that people do. To me, my biggest fear is that of what is concrete. Most horror stories I hear or read don’t involve aliens, beasts, the supernatural; it involves a monster in the shape and form of another person.<br /><br />This has been re-enforced this morning when I woke up to find that the State of Georgia, in the US, supported by the Supreme Court, has executed a man, Troy Davis, despite the lax evidence against his supposed crime. <br /><br />Watching my children growing up, I fear the day when I’ll have to let go, allow them their independence, to walk along the streets alone. Stories of people being abducted, innocents being killed daily, victims of a lost bullet, a psycho on a joyride; victims of abuse, of despair, evil. The cities have become a scary place to live in and we live our lives never knowing if this is the day we’ll be the next victims. But all this has always been part of life in the big cities, sad as it may be.<br /><br />But when a government takes it into its own hands to promote justice, and by doing so end the life of another man, any sense of safety seizes to exist. When those sworn to protect you against evil become the ones to fear, who will we turn to for justice? To me, Troy Davis was just a man I heard of for the first time last night when the world called for mercy; to others, he was a son, a brother, a friend. Today we mourn; not just the loss of a citizen, but the loss of human rights. <br /><br />That to me is the scariest of all horrors.Teenie Russellhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04464060806712120012noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4068665620134715996.post-16460612755844260782011-09-16T23:35:00.003+01:002011-09-16T23:41:56.114+01:00Competition Time of YearWednesday was a good day. Sitting in my sons’ room before 5am my mind started to float between dream and consciousness. That’s when the idea came.<br /><br />By 6 a.m. I was ready to write and the thought of having to wait was killing me.<br /><br />At 8 a.m. I could wait no longer. I left the kids playing with their dad and went to have a “shower”. As I sat in the bedroom, not taking a shower, I wrote. Thankfully, for my husband and the kids, it was a one-page script.<br /><br />I have now typed it up and re-written.<br /><br />This is my entry for a competition for the upcoming London Screenwriters’ Festival.<br /><br />It is just one of many writing opportunities that I have come across in the last couple of weeks, so I thought I’d list a few here:<br /><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://www.londonscreenwritersfestival.com/ehome/LSF2011/competitions/screenplay" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="178" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-pqZwNTbBHL0/TnPMfswoWSI/AAAAAAAAAPk/Ioy_Q1vfvIg/s400/four-day-script.jpg" width="400" /></a></div><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><b>Deadline: September 30th</b><br /><b><br /></b><br /><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://www.ottfilms.co.uk/forum/viewtopic.php?f=69&t=7922" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="133" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-N_LioWT13ok/TnPNN7eSQVI/AAAAAAAAAPo/NvuDCg9zn-g/s400/OTT_COMP.jpg" width="400" /></a></div><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><b>Deadline: October 4th</b><br /><b><br /></b><br /><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://www.collabor8te.com/how-to-apply" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="78" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-Fux7TNeWKAE/TnPNbsmzhMI/AAAAAAAAAPs/GXSmy5nupDA/s400/logo+collabor8te.gif" width="400" /></a></div><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><b>Deadline: October 3rd</b><br /><b><br /></b><br /><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://www.rocliffe.com/how_to_submit.html" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="94" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-oF9t2BtPwtw/TnPNpa0SfaI/AAAAAAAAAPw/kCiqF5gcCdM/s400/rocliffe.png" width="400" /></a></div><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><b>Deadline: Early Bird September 26th / Final Entry October 6th</b><br /><b><br /></b><br /><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://www.comedy.co.uk/sitcom_mission/info/" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="60" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-zUfSOGRFtPU/TnPN5Aw2X_I/AAAAAAAAAP0/pGhc4Yw8ANE/s400/sitcom_mission_logo.jpg" width="400" /></a></div><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><b>Deadline: Early Bird January 25th/ Final Entry January 31st</b><br /><b><br /></b><br /><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://4talent.channel4.com/extra/4SC" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="236" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-JPpOw0shIjA/TnPOPL3OKTI/AAAAAAAAAP4/8zZYKI2nmN4/s400/Screen+Shot+2011-09-16+at+22.21.37.png" width="400" /></a></div><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><b>Deadline: November 1st</b><br /><br /><br />If you know of any other current opportunities, please leave a note in the comment section and I'll add it to the list.Teenie Russellhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04464060806712120012noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4068665620134715996.post-30062546554192922372011-08-27T20:27:00.000+01:002011-08-27T20:27:16.664+01:00Two to Watch - Screenwriting DocumentariesIn the past year I have watched two fantastic documentaries on Screenwriting and wanted to share them with every screenwriter out there.<br /><br />The first one, is <a href="http://www.amazon.co.uk/Tales-Script-DVD-Region-NTSC/dp/B00329PYH0/ref=sr_1_3?ie=UTF8&amp;qid=1314471106&amp;sr=8-3"><b>Tales from the Script</b></a>. This is an account of struggles and successes from a variety of Produced writers, including some very big names. If you need further convincing, here is a trailer:<br /><br /><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><iframe allowFullScreen='true' webkitallowfullscreen='true' mozallowfullscreen='true' width='320' height='266' src='https://www.youtube.com/embed/BeEHIPDtLyY?feature=player_embedded' FRAMEBORDER='0' /></div><br /><br /><br /><br />The second is <b>Dreams on Spec</b>. The documentary follows three screenwriters as they try to break into the industry. It is available for free and you can watch it right now.<br /><br /><br /><div style="text-align: center;"><object data="http://o.snagfilms.com/film.swf" height="255" id="f-177" type="application/x-shockwave-flash" width="300"><param name="allowNetworking" value="all" /><param name="allowScriptAccess" value="always" /><param name="movie" value="http://o.snagfilms.com/film.swf" /><param name="wmode" value="transparent" /><param name="flashvars" value="id=177&cid=f-177-dreams_on_sp" /></object></div><img border="0" height="0" src="http://c.gigcount.com/wildfire/IMP/CXNID=2000002.0NXC/bT*xJmx*PTEzMTQzOTIzNzYxNTYmcHQ9MTMxNDM5MjM5Mjg*OSZwPTEwNjExOTImZD1mLTE3Ny1kcmVhbXNfb25fc3AmZz*xJm89/NjViNWU1NjAzNjcxNDE*OWE1MmM4NTg*MTg5YjA3OTcmb2Y9MA==.gif" style="height: 0px; visibility: hidden; width: 0px;" width="0" /><a href="http://www.snagfilms.com/" style="color: #008cb9; display: block; font-family: Arial; font-size: 11px; line-height: 30px; text-align: center; text-decoration: none; width: 300px;" target="_blank">&nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp;Watch more free documentaries</a><br /><br /><br />I hope you enjoy these as much as I did. If there are others you have watched/ heard of, please leave the details in the comment below.<br /><br />Teenie Russellhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04464060806712120012noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4068665620134715996.post-27490574192749836572011-08-18T14:09:00.002+01:002011-08-18T14:24:54.329+01:00New Distractions<div class="MsoNormal">I’ve done it again! I have found a new distraction, a new project to immerse myself into and spend hours thinking about rather than going to bed or interacting with those around me. Wait! Make that two!<o:p></o:p></div><div class="MsoNormal"><br /></div><div class="MsoNormal"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><img border="0" height="320" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-horPo2K146k/Tkzyp4Ci8bI/AAAAAAAAAOY/K_Un4NcbePU/s320/Scriptchat-1.jpg" width="231" /></div><div class="MsoNormal"><o:p><br /></o:p></div><div class="MsoNormal"><u><b>Scriptchat</b></u></div><div class="MsoNormal"><o:p></o:p></div><div class="MsoNormal">The first is <a href="http://scriptchat.blogspot.com/">#Scriptchat</a>, an online weekly gathering of scriptwriters, from beginners to seasoned writers, who share their thoughts and experiences. The chat takes place on Twitter every Sunday night for an hour. I joined it just over a year ago and it’s something I always look forward to: an hour chatting to people who like me, love to torture themselves. OK, that’s just me then. As of this coming Sunday I will be one of the new EURO co-moderators of scriptchat, in conjunction with my writing partner and husband <a href="http://tarorussell.com/">Taro</a>. We will be joining <a href="http://twitter.com/#!/alli_and_that">Alli Parker</a> and have the honour of replacing the Euro scriptchat founder <a href="http://twitter.com/#!/Mina_Zaher">Mina Zaher</a>. So if you already follow #scriptchat and everything suddenly goes weird and incomprehensible, that’s why.</div><div class="MsoNormal">Although if you're in the USA you need not worry as it's moderated by a great <a href="http://scriptchat.blogspot.com/p/about-treefort-creators.html">team</a>.<br /><br /><br /></div><div class="MsoNormal"><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-DXauLd_aaJk/Tk0SYnrxuJI/AAAAAAAAAOs/7omg9W1FMHo/s1600/rec_hat_lula_hand_-_small.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-DXauLd_aaJk/Tk0SYnrxuJI/AAAAAAAAAOs/7omg9W1FMHo/s1600/rec_hat_lula_hand_-_small.jpg" /></a></div></div><div class="MsoNormal"><br /></div><div class="MsoNormal"><b><u>HitRECord</u></b><o:p></o:p></div><div class="MsoNormal">The second is <a href="http://hitrecord.org/featured">HitRECord</a>. This is a collaborative project set up by <a href="http://www.imdb.com/name/nm0330687/">Joseph Gordon-Levitt</a>, who likes to refer to himself as Regular Joe. HitRECord is in some ways a production company, but it’s a lot more than that, it’s a place to let your imagination run free, like a big brainstorm room where you contribute with ideas and these are picked up and merged with other thoughts and bounced back and picked up again and remixed once again and so forth. So just a simple image or a couple of words could become a symphony. This is perfect for anyone who like me has too many thoughts and ideas roaming around with no real home, and definitely for those who are happy to share and collaborate.</div><div class="MsoNormal"><o:p></o:p></div><div class="MsoNormal"><br /></div><div class="MsoNormal"><br /></div><div class="MsoNormal">While Scriptchat is extra work, it’s very relevant to my writing. It’s the very important networking side, getting to know people with similar interests and also learning so much about this craft in a fun and interactive way. We all share and are willing to help selflessly.<o:p></o:p></div><div class="MsoNormal">HitRECord will hopefully not take up too much time either as to me it will be a place to share those extra curricular thoughts, doodles, videos and photos that are already part of my daily life.<o:p></o:p></div><div class="MsoNormal"><br /></div><div class="MsoNormal">Fear not though, I have still been writing my scripts. I have realised that I can’t write every time I have a spare minute as my brain isn’t always in the right mood. Yes, I have a moody brain. I can still fit in the above activities when my spare time is too short to get into writing mode, or I am too tired to focused on anything other than doodling or tweeting.<o:p></o:p></div><div class="MsoNormal"><br /></div><div class="MsoNormal">Everything in moderation ;-)<o:p></o:p></div>Teenie Russellhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04464060806712120012noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4068665620134715996.post-36162736856188957872011-08-05T22:23:00.000+01:002011-08-05T22:23:45.755+01:00I'll Write Tomorrow, and that's OK<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Courier New', Courier, monospace;">As writers, we love nothing more than to, well, write. Just sit down and let our imagination run wild getting all those thoughts and conversations that we have between our characters in our mind on to paper. As playwright Edward Albee said “A writer is a controlled schizophrenic”.&nbsp;In fact, one of my favourite movies is Girl, Interrupted. The protagonist is a writer who doesn’t conform, and because she is different, she is logically insane and needs to be committed.</span><br /><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt; margin-left: 0cm; margin-right: 0cm; margin-top: 0cm;"><br /></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt; margin-left: 0cm; margin-right: 0cm; margin-top: 0cm;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Courier New', Courier, monospace;">We also have to realise though that writing isn’t everything and that we have other needs and responsibilities; and I’m not just talking about the bills that need paying, but mostly about the real characters, not the ones in our minds, but the ones in our lives. They too need love and attention.<o:p></o:p></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt; margin-left: 0cm; margin-right: 0cm; margin-top: 0cm;"><br /></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt; margin-left: 0cm; margin-right: 0cm; margin-top: 0cm;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Courier New', Courier, monospace;">Remember when I <a href="http://www.teenierussell.com/2011/05/juggling-life-for-me.html">wrote a script in a month for Scriptfrenzy</a>? Somehow then I managed to juggle a very busy life with writing, and for that month it worked out better than planned, but life isn’t always straight forward and sometimes routine just won’t cut it.<o:p></o:p></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt; margin-left: 0cm; margin-right: 0cm; margin-top: 0cm;"><br /></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt; margin-left: 0cm; margin-right: 0cm; margin-top: 0cm;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Courier New', Courier, monospace;">I concluded that if I persisted on writing this week, I would eventually set my house on fire. Fact! Twice in the space of one week I’ve added oil to a pot and left it on the fire for 2secs while checking on the kids. A whole five minutes later I’d either remember or smell it and have to rescue the burnt pot and set it aside knowing that I had been lucky that nothing worse happened. I’ve just done too many silly mistakes this week, things I would normally never do. I have been very distracted and it is as simple as I haven’t had enough sleep.<o:p></o:p></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt; margin-left: 0cm; margin-right: 0cm; margin-top: 0cm;"><br /></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt; margin-left: 0cm; margin-right: 0cm; margin-top: 0cm;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Courier New', Courier, monospace;">It’s beautiful outside, but it’s almost too hot, it makes one slow and tired and brain dead. Sun is lethal! Besides that, my children do not like sleeping and at any moment between 4-6am they are wide-awake and ready for the day. By 9am we just need to get out of the house. So this week there’s been splashing, walking, boat rides, scooting, ball kicking, painting, drawing, cleaning, feeding, fighting, crying, watching, splashing, cleaning, reading, playing, laughing. When all calms down and there’s finally sleeping, I sit down and try to write, or end up reading. So when does my brain rest? I suppose it hasn’t and it’s the reason I can’t focus on simple things.<o:p></o:p></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt; margin-left: 0cm; margin-right: 0cm; margin-top: 0cm;"><br /></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt; margin-left: 0cm; margin-right: 0cm; margin-top: 0cm;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Courier New', Courier, monospace;">I have finally accepted that this is the only writing happening this week. I’m taking a little coffee break whilst Wall-E entertains my eldest. The princess castle cake I’m making for my niece patiently waits for me to mold it into a castle rather than the big blob it is right now (I took so long to post this the cake is almost ready).</span><br /><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Courier New', Courier, monospace;"><br /></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt; margin-left: 0cm; margin-right: 0cm; margin-top: 0cm;"><br /><div style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/taro/6012830204/" title="Princess Castle Cake - almost done by Taro &amp; Teenie, on Flickr"><img alt="Princess Castle Cake - almost done" height="428" src="http://farm7.static.flickr.com/6125/6012830204_11ff459469.jpg" width="500" /></a></div><br /></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt; margin-left: 0cm; margin-right: 0cm; margin-top: 0cm;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Courier New', Courier, monospace;">The pressure to write is one I have imposed upon myself and have now declared that it will have to wait until Monday rather than trying to fit in around the busy weekend.<o:p></o:p></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt; margin-left: 0cm; margin-right: 0cm; margin-top: 0cm;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Courier New', Courier, monospace;">So there you go, tomorrow I’ll write, today I’m going to sleep – and that is absolutely fine!<o:p></o:p></span><br /><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Courier New', Courier, monospace;"><br /></span></div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Courier New', Courier, monospace;">Wait a minute, I hear cries, nevermind sleep for now.</span>Teenie Russellhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04464060806712120012noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4068665620134715996.post-15774124124753949562011-07-20T11:29:00.000+01:002011-07-20T11:29:28.795+01:00I'm Writing it My Way<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt; margin-left: 0cm; margin-right: 0cm; margin-top: 0cm;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Courier New', Courier, monospace;">Everyone is an expert. Really. The moment you announce you’re a writer, for example, you’ll be recommended several must read books, you will be introduced to many different writing blogs, and everyone will have an opinion on how best to write a screenplay, even those who have yet to write one. You’ll end up confused, with a lot of conflicting information to sieve through. When it all gets a bit too much you’ll just slip away and form your own opinions of what style suits you best.<o:p></o:p></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt; margin-left: 0cm; margin-right: 0cm; margin-top: 0cm;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Courier New', Courier, monospace;"><br /></span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-ADr2KgEP2NU/TiatKxucIEI/AAAAAAAAAOE/nCf6WBX7duM/s1600/brazil+road.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Courier New', Courier, monospace;"><img border="0" height="206" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-ADr2KgEP2NU/TiatKxucIEI/AAAAAAAAAOE/nCf6WBX7duM/s400/brazil+road.jpg" width="400" /></span></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Courier New', Courier, monospace;">Photo by Taro Russell</span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt; margin-left: 0cm; margin-right: 0cm; margin-top: 0cm;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Courier New', Courier, monospace;"><br /></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt; margin-left: 0cm; margin-right: 0cm; margin-top: 0cm;"><br /></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt; margin-left: 0cm; margin-right: 0cm; margin-top: 0cm;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Courier New', Courier, monospace;">Like me, you might decide there isn’t a right way or a wrong way, just your way and my way. My way of course, being the very complicated, long-winded way of doing things.<o:p></o:p></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt; margin-left: 0cm; margin-right: 0cm; margin-top: 0cm;"><br /></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt; margin-left: 0cm; margin-right: 0cm; margin-top: 0cm;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Courier New', Courier, monospace;">I did it my way.<o:p></o:p></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt; margin-left: 0cm; margin-right: 0cm; margin-top: 0cm;"><br /></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt; margin-left: 0cm; margin-right: 0cm; margin-top: 0cm;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Courier New', Courier, monospace;">I listened, I read and then I ignored it all. Well, I didn’t purposely ignore it all, I just didn’t understand why I needed so much preparation, I just wanted to write. I did not need a logline, an outline, a treatment or any preparation. The story was in my head, so why write it twice? Armed with a pen and paper, I sat down and wrote my first short. I put it aside and life happened. Ten years later, I re-read it and then I tore it. It was that bad. The story was still in my head but what I read on paper made absolutely no sense. There were so many flashbacks, and the story was so non-linear, I simply could not understand any of it. Thinking back, I think I was trying to make it Pulp Fiction-esque. Big Mistake. The dialogue wasn’t bad though; I’ll give myself that.<o:p></o:p></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt; margin-left: 0cm; margin-right: 0cm; margin-top: 0cm;"><br /></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt; margin-left: 0cm; margin-right: 0cm; margin-top: 0cm;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Courier New', Courier, monospace;">A year after that revealing moment, and a few scripts later, it’s incredible to look back and see how much I’ve changed my way and my beliefs. It’s gone from an all over the place unstructured mess to a more formulaic process in which I question the plot and characters in depth before jumping into the writing process. Although I have to admit, this really is a very recent development.<o:p></o:p></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt; margin-left: 0cm; margin-right: 0cm; margin-top: 0cm;"><br /></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt; margin-left: 0cm; margin-right: 0cm; margin-top: 0cm;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Courier New', Courier, monospace;">To err is human.<o:p></o:p></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt; margin-left: 0cm; margin-right: 0cm; margin-top: 0cm;"><br /></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt; margin-left: 0cm; margin-right: 0cm; margin-top: 0cm;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Courier New', Courier, monospace;">Going into anything for the first time we’re bound to get some things wrong, and it’s in an attempt to help prevent other writer’s from constantly going through the same mistakes, falling into the same traps, that there are so many experts out there. They all mean well, but who likes to be told what to do and how to do it? We are stubborn creatures, and learn best when we stumble and have to pick ourselves back up. I am of course generalising, when I say we, I just mean me – although, if it sounds like you too, then I mean we.<o:p></o:p></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt; margin-left: 0cm; margin-right: 0cm; margin-top: 0cm;"><br /></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt; margin-left: 0cm; margin-right: 0cm; margin-top: 0cm;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Courier New', Courier, monospace;">I’m sure that in a few years time I’ll be preaching to first timers about the rules of scriptwriting, and most of them will nod their head and then go learn for themselves. I’ve still got much to learn and one day will realise that I follow all the basic rules that I’ve steered away from, not for arrogance but ignorance – a need to learn for myself, whilst hopefully still remaining true to my voice, which I will have found by then. Repeat 100 times.<o:p></o:p></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt; margin-left: 0cm; margin-right: 0cm; margin-top: 0cm;"><br /></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt; margin-left: 0cm; margin-right: 0cm; margin-top: 0cm;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Courier New', Courier, monospace;">Had I maybe spent a little more time paying attention to those willing to share, rather than rushing into it, I would have a stronger selection of scripts to showcase my writing. As it stands though, I might just about have a couple.<o:p></o:p></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt; margin-left: 0cm; margin-right: 0cm; margin-top: 0cm;"><br /></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt; margin-left: 0cm; margin-right: 0cm; margin-top: 0cm;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Courier New', Courier, monospace;">It is all without regret though, as I am now more equipped and experienced to truly understand why certain aspects of the process, such as the preparation are so important. I am now happy that all the literature is out there, easier than ever to access.<o:p></o:p></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt; margin-left: 0cm; margin-right: 0cm; margin-top: 0cm;"><br /></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt; margin-left: 0cm; margin-right: 0cm; margin-top: 0cm;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Courier New', Courier, monospace;">In the words of Dr Seuss “The more that you read, the more things you will know. The more that you learn, the more places you’ll go.”</span></div>Teenie Russellhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04464060806712120012noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4068665620134715996.post-4670104281047952352011-07-07T22:57:00.001+01:002011-07-12T14:12:33.080+01:00Write from the Heart<span class="Apple-style-span" style="-webkit-border-horizontal-spacing: 2px; -webkit-border-vertical-spacing: 2px; color: #333333; font-family: 'Courier New', Courier, monospace;"><b>"No tears in the writer, no tears in the reader. No surprise for the writer, no surprise for the reader."<br />Robert Frost</b></span><br /><br /><br />When you write with your heart, allowing all your emotions to run free into your characters, it will show. I am an emotional person, have always been, but for some reason I have never been the type to display my real feelings. I don't do hugs, cries and passionate kisses in public.<br /><br />From the day I conceived my 1st born, my senses seemed heightened. Everything I felt became tenfold. When I experience fear, it is scarier than ever; when I experience worry, it has me on edge; when I experience love it is unconditional. What a gift, to be able to experience all these emotions with such intensity. Yet I still have trouble allowing them to roam free. It is in my nature to control them, to hide them away like a shameful secret.<br /><br />Reading back what I've written, reading the life I've created for my characters I came to realise that they carry the same shield I do. Their emotions just lightly touch the surface of their being, not allowing them to fully embrace their passions, desires, fears. So while I am fully aware that I should be writing from my heart, opening my soul to my work, I think that in better understanding who I am and my own emotions, I will be able to better translate them to the character.<br /><br /><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-a6wJeeXwA1c/ThxIM2fXovI/AAAAAAAAANI/t4icedHRhpY/s1600/ThelmaandLouise.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="233" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-a6wJeeXwA1c/ThxIM2fXovI/AAAAAAAAANI/t4icedHRhpY/s400/ThelmaandLouise.jpg" width="400" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><br />I have recently read the script to Thelma &amp; Louise. From the start we understand why Thelma has to get away, also understanding how hard it is for her. Every step of the way we see her vulnerability, naïvety, but we also see her getting stronger, believing more in herself. Louise is almost the opposite; she is the strong one, the wise one and her defensive nature isn't quite clear at first. As the story unfolds though, she becomes more vulnerable as her mask starts to come off.&nbsp;That is in my humble opinion, why it's such a good story, the protagonists have such a strong emotional baggage. Neither of them is perfect, yet they are very likeable. Their fear of becoming trapped leads them to their own self-destruction, and the end is the only way to achieve the freedom they've been seeking for all along.<br /><br />It is characters like Thelma &amp; Louise that I aspire to write. Characters filled with flaws and compassion that makes them so real.<br /><br />As an exercise to myself, I will attempt to re-create moments that have marked me throughout my life. I aim to write every emotion that I felt at key moments that have helped define me so far, from the little girl who was ashamed of being a foreigner, even in her own country, to the excitement and frustration of first loves, to the stress and confusion faced with in the job market. <br /><br />Unfortunately, as is my nature, I am not yet ready to share those publicly, either out of shame or fear. Somethings should remain private, but my writing it out, accepting it, understanding those feelings. I'll be able to write stronger and more complex characters.<br /><br />Just a thought.Teenie Russellhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04464060806712120012noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4068665620134715996.post-18171789056733310002011-06-30T19:32:00.002+01:002011-07-12T14:14:29.578+01:00Have you Laughed Today yet?<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt; margin-left: 0cm; margin-right: 0cm; margin-top: 0cm;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Courier New', Courier, monospace;">I recently watched 5minutes of <a href="http://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/b006t889">Lead Balloon</a> and found myself laughing a lot. How have I never heard of this programme before? Since I started writing comedy I’ve been paying a lot more attention to the different sitcoms and comedies around.<o:p></o:p></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt; margin-left: 0cm; margin-right: 0cm; margin-top: 0cm;"><br /></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt; margin-left: 0cm; margin-right: 0cm; margin-top: 0cm;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Courier New', Courier, monospace;">Apparently an adult laughs on average 17 times a day, it might not be much, but to me it seems like a healthy amount of times; but if someone does laugh that much then why is it so hard to make one laugh deliberately?<o:p></o:p></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt; margin-left: 0cm; margin-right: 0cm; margin-top: 0cm;"><br /></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt; margin-left: 0cm; margin-right: 0cm; margin-top: 0cm;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Courier New', Courier, monospace;">There is an art to writing comedy and like any genre, there will be people who either love it or hate it.<o:p></o:p></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt; margin-left: 0cm; margin-right: 0cm; margin-top: 0cm;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Courier New', Courier, monospace;"><br /></span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt; margin-left: 0cm; margin-right: 0cm; margin-top: 0cm;"><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-27xqbPrcSEE/ThxIeK2U5EI/AAAAAAAAANM/Xv_Au34kTuA/s1600/married_with_children.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="263" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-27xqbPrcSEE/ThxIeK2U5EI/AAAAAAAAANM/Xv_Au34kTuA/s400/married_with_children.jpg" width="400" /></a></div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Courier New', Courier, monospace;"><br /></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt; margin-left: 0cm; margin-right: 0cm; margin-top: 0cm;"><br /></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt; margin-left: 0cm; margin-right: 0cm; margin-top: 0cm;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Courier New', Courier, monospace;">I remember watching Married with Children when I was younger. We would all sit and watch it with my Dad and he would laugh out loud (yes, he would lol) from beginning to end, my mum on the other hand didn’t find any of the characters likeable. I am sure she would approve of the more recent take on family comedy, Modern Family, also staring Ed O’Neil.<o:p></o:p></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt; margin-left: 0cm; margin-right: 0cm; margin-top: 0cm;"><br /></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt; margin-left: 0cm; margin-right: 0cm; margin-top: 0cm;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Courier New', Courier, monospace;">I know some people of a certain generation who didn't like Friends. A group of youngsters all ‘living in sin’ just didn’t fit in with their values. If they gave it a chance they would realise it wasn’t about whether or not they had sex, it was about the interactions. Although having said that, sex is funny! It is always a recurring theme in many comedies, why? Because it’s awkward, it’s clumsy, it can be taboo and is rarely sexy. As Lucy V Hay writes in her <a href="http://lucyvee.blogspot.com/2011/02/this-is-call-more-sex-please.html">blog</a>, you can tell a lot about people and their relationship through sex.<o:p></o:p></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt; margin-left: 0cm; margin-right: 0cm; margin-top: 0cm;"><br /></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt; margin-left: 0cm; margin-right: 0cm; margin-top: 0cm;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Courier New', Courier, monospace;">I digress; this is a post about comedy, not SEX.<o:p></o:p></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt; margin-left: 0cm; margin-right: 0cm; margin-top: 0cm;"><o:p><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Courier New', Courier, monospace;"><br /></span></o:p></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt; margin-left: 0cm; margin-right: 0cm; margin-top: 0cm;"><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-zlfd79ovJm0/ThxIocMO1HI/AAAAAAAAANQ/EG3XfzagCB8/s1600/Ace-Ventura-Pet-Detective_L.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="275" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-zlfd79ovJm0/ThxIocMO1HI/AAAAAAAAANQ/EG3XfzagCB8/s400/Ace-Ventura-Pet-Detective_L.jpg" width="400" /></a></div><o:p><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Courier New', Courier, monospace;"><br /></span></o:p></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt; margin-left: 0cm; margin-right: 0cm; margin-top: 0cm;"><br /></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt; margin-left: 0cm; margin-right: 0cm; margin-top: 0cm;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Courier New', Courier, monospace;">Over the years I’ve come across a few people who think Ace Ventura: Pet Detective is one of the funniest films they have ever seen. I personally don’t get it and after watching it, I could not watch any films that Jim Carrey starred in. For me, his exaggerated facial expressions were just trying too hard to be funny.<o:p></o:p></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt; margin-left: 0cm; margin-right: 0cm; margin-top: 0cm;"><br /></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt; margin-left: 0cm; margin-right: 0cm; margin-top: 0cm;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Courier New', Courier, monospace;">That leads me to question how comedy on paper translates to screen? It is as much about the story and gags as it is about the performance. An average performance without all the right pauses could leave a lot to be desired; likewise, an excellent delivery of a mediocre comedy script will just be mediocre. How many times have we watched a comedy because of its cast, only to be disappointed? I can think of a few.<o:p></o:p></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt; margin-left: 0cm; margin-right: 0cm; margin-top: 0cm;"><br /></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt; margin-left: 0cm; margin-right: 0cm; margin-top: 0cm;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Courier New', Courier, monospace;">I’m now on a mission to read the script for Ace Ventura simply to find out whether or not I would like it better. Unfortunately, it seems that whenever I read a script of a film or TV series that I have already watched, I can’t help but imagine the characters as played by the respective actors, so reading Ace Ventura without imagining Jim Carey playing the lead role could be a challenge.<o:p></o:p></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt; margin-left: 0cm; margin-right: 0cm; margin-top: 0cm;"><br /></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt; margin-left: 0cm; margin-right: 0cm; margin-top: 0cm;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Courier New', Courier, monospace;">Whether it makes you laugh or not, a comedy should still read as a comedy, that is, one should be able to identify its genre without much thought to it. So if you have to think too much about the genre, or even worse, if you’ve written a comedy and someone mistakes it for a horror, then it’s time for a re-write.<o:p></o:p></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt; margin-left: 0cm; margin-right: 0cm; margin-top: 0cm;"><br /></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt; margin-left: 0cm; margin-right: 0cm; margin-top: 0cm;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Courier New', Courier, monospace;">It is hard to make everyone laugh at a comedy, so I try to at least write something that I find funny. If you can get just one person to laugh, then hopefully you’re on a roll. Do you know what? Laughter is infectious; the more people who laugh at something, the more other people will laugh too. Notice next time you are in a movie theatre watching a comedy. The minute someone laughs out loud at something, others will join in, and the more people laugh, the more others will realise it’s ok to laugh and will join in.&nbsp;</span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt; margin-left: 0cm; margin-right: 0cm; margin-top: 0cm;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Courier New', Courier, monospace;"><br /></span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><iframe allowFullScreen='true' webkitallowfullscreen='true' mozallowfullscreen='true' width='320' height='266' src='https://www.youtube.com/embed/boWd23YKOpQ?feature=player_embedded' FRAMEBORDER='0' /></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt; margin-left: 0cm; margin-right: 0cm; margin-top: 0cm;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Courier New', Courier, monospace;"><br /></span></div>Teenie Russellhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04464060806712120012noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4068665620134715996.post-21570741619595004912011-06-16T21:58:00.002+01:002011-07-12T14:18:54.519+01:00Child's Play: Write What You Know?<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Courier New', Courier, monospace;"></span><br /><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt; margin-left: 0cm; margin-right: 0cm; margin-top: 0cm;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Courier New', Courier, monospace;">As some of you may have noticed, I’m a sucker for competitions. I work best to deadlines and therefore jump at the opportunity of entering one more comp. It is also a welcome distraction from all those re-writes that I should be doing instead.<o:p></o:p></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt; margin-left: 0cm; margin-right: 0cm; margin-top: 0cm;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Courier New', Courier, monospace;"><br /></span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; text-align: center;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Courier New', Courier, monospace;"></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt; margin-left: 0cm; margin-right: 0cm; margin-top: 0cm;"><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-7sAOGxnX50g/ThxJk8ro1lI/AAAAAAAAANY/LrePDpTrL9c/s1600/getasquiggle.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="108" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-7sAOGxnX50g/ThxJk8ro1lI/AAAAAAAAANY/LrePDpTrL9c/s400/getasquiggle.jpg" width="400" /></a></div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Courier New', Courier, monospace;"><br /></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt; margin-left: 0cm; margin-right: 0cm; margin-top: 0cm;"><br /></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt; margin-left: 0cm; margin-right: 0cm; margin-top: 0cm;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Courier New', Courier, monospace;">When CBeebies therefore announced their script competition&nbsp;<a href="http://www.bbc.co.uk/writersroom/opportunity/get_a_squiggle_on.shtml">Get A Squiggle On</a>&nbsp;I was very excited. This is certainly something I know about.&nbsp;&nbsp;I am a mother of two under the age of 4 and children’s TV is probably watched more than any other channel in this house. Having also worked on the promo team for Cbeebies I decided that I knew enough about the channel to write a twenty-minute script for an original live action programme.</span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt; margin-left: 0cm; margin-right: 0cm; margin-top: 0cm;"><br /></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt; margin-left: 0cm; margin-right: 0cm; margin-top: 0cm;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Courier New', Courier, monospace;">I started to think about the various kids’ programmes and their content, which ones my son liked the best and why. It seems that no matter what the message is, the main characters are all very lively and exaggerated caricatures being mostly grown ups or older children. In&nbsp;<a href="http://www.bbc.co.uk/cbeebies/grandpa/">Grandpa in my Pocket</a>&nbsp;for example, the characters’ names tend to reflect their personality, such as Mr Whoops, Mr Liker Biker and Captain Shipshape amongst others. The characters in&nbsp;<a href="http://www.bbc.co.uk/cbeebies/grownups/about/programmes/balamory.shtml">Balamory</a>&nbsp;are equally all exaggerations of real people who live in a charming village with houses all painted in a different colour – being the use of primary colours another characteristic of kids’ programmes.<o:p></o:p></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt; margin-left: 0cm; margin-right: 0cm; margin-top: 0cm;"><br /></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt; margin-left: 0cm; margin-right: 0cm; margin-top: 0cm;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Courier New', Courier, monospace;">Music is key and whether it’s just the opening/ closing sequence or throughout, it is important to have a catchy tune with memorable and easy to learn lyrics. When they get it right, the children will be singing it over and over and over. This is great for the programme makers, not so good for the parents’ ears.<o:p></o:p></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt; margin-left: 0cm; margin-right: 0cm; margin-top: 0cm;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Courier New', Courier, monospace;"><br /></span><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-ZH-n-N3o6Gc/ThxJtNZfKyI/AAAAAAAAANc/K6zS7-4g1E8/s1600/somethingspecial_mrtumble_385.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="225" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-ZH-n-N3o6Gc/ThxJtNZfKyI/AAAAAAAAANc/K6zS7-4g1E8/s400/somethingspecial_mrtumble_385.jpg" width="400" /></a></div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Courier New', Courier, monospace;"><br /></span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Courier New', Courier, monospace;"></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt; margin-left: 0cm; margin-right: 0cm; margin-top: 0cm;"><br /></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt; margin-left: 0cm; margin-right: 0cm; margin-top: 0cm;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Courier New', Courier, monospace;">Finally, there is a formula that all episodes will follow. In&nbsp;<a href="http://www.bbc.co.uk/cbeebies/grownups/about/programmes/somethingspecial.shtml">Something Special</a>, for example, there are intercut sequences between Mr Tumble and Justin as well as the use of&nbsp;<a href="http://www.makaton.org/">Makaton</a>&nbsp;signs. The viewer knows that no matter what the theme is, it will always start and end with Mr Tumble.<o:p></o:p></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt; margin-left: 0cm; margin-right: 0cm; margin-top: 0cm;"><br /></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt; margin-left: 0cm; margin-right: 0cm; margin-top: 0cm;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Courier New', Courier, monospace;">The duration of 20 minutes is a challenge but if you have a good strong formula to set the pace with characters and topics that the child can relate to, then hopefully it will keep the child engaged.<o:p></o:p></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt; margin-left: 0cm; margin-right: 0cm; margin-top: 0cm;"><br /></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt; margin-left: 0cm; margin-right: 0cm; margin-top: 0cm;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Courier New', Courier, monospace;">Taking all of the above into consideration, I started to brainstorm. Many different ideas later it seemed that it had either already been done, or it wasn’t really something I would want to watch myself. Eventually, Taro suggested we adapt a short he had been writing. It would have to be changed from dark comedy to a more colourful and child friendly version, but it could work and should be fun.<o:p></o:p></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt; margin-left: 0cm; margin-right: 0cm; margin-top: 0cm;"><br /></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt; margin-left: 0cm; margin-right: 0cm; margin-top: 0cm;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Courier New', Courier, monospace;">After a week or two of talking about it, we came up with a workable outline that could be adapted to any episode and I started writing. Five pages in I got stuck and I got bored. As Taro pointed out, even though we watch unhealthy amounts of children’s TV, it doesn’t mean that we can write for it or even that we would want to; and he’s right. I could spend another 2-3weeks on this project but I’ve found it very hard not to get distracted.<o:p></o:p></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt; margin-left: 0cm; margin-right: 0cm; margin-top: 0cm;"><br /></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt; margin-left: 0cm; margin-right: 0cm; margin-top: 0cm;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Courier New', Courier, monospace;">They say write what you know, but they also say love what you write. What was I thinking? I spend all day with children; my life has become a child’s programme, why would I also want to write about it? Writing dark murderous comedy as a contrast is definitely a lot more fun.</span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt; margin-left: 0cm; margin-right: 0cm; margin-top: 0cm;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Courier New', Courier, monospace;"><br /></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt; margin-left: 0cm; margin-right: 0cm; margin-top: 0cm;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Courier New', Courier, monospace;"><br /></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt; margin-left: 0cm; margin-right: 0cm; margin-top: 0cm;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Courier New', Courier, monospace;">For those of you entering this competition, <a href="http://www.bbc.co.uk/blogs/writersroom/2011/06/mr_blooms_nursery.shtml">here</a> is an interesting article by&nbsp;Ben Faulks, creator, writer and star of Mr Bloom's Nursery. He talks about the writing and development process of his show.</span></div>Teenie Russellhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04464060806712120012noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4068665620134715996.post-31629795354917305942011-06-10T19:50:00.004+01:002011-07-12T17:02:29.992+01:00Donkey Tails and other Random Facts<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt; margin-left: 0cm; margin-right: 0cm; margin-top: 0cm;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Courier New', Courier, monospace;"><i>It was a breezy summer morning and we strolled along the beach. My husband and I walked hand in hand as the children ran ahead leaving footprints in the damp sand – the right kind of sand for building sand castles.<o:p></o:p></i></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt; margin-left: 0cm; margin-right: 0cm; margin-top: 0cm;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Courier New', Courier, monospace;"><br /></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt; margin-left: 0cm; margin-right: 0cm; margin-top: 0cm;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Courier New', Courier, monospace;"><i>The seagulls squawked their squawky melodies rudely breaking the silence of that very quiet morning. As I looked around, I soon came to realise we were alone, there was no one in sight, not even a donkey, not a single one.<o:p></o:p></i></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt; margin-left: 0cm; margin-right: 0cm; margin-top: 0cm;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Courier New', Courier, monospace;"><br /></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt; margin-left: 0cm; margin-right: 0cm; margin-top: 0cm;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Courier New', Courier, monospace;"><i>Something was wrong. It was a popular resort, the weather was reasonable, the seagulls were inviting and the sand was perfect for sculpting; so where were all the people, and most importantly, where were the donkeys?<o:p></o:p></i></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt; margin-left: 0cm; margin-right: 0cm; margin-top: 0cm;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Courier New', Courier, monospace;"><br /></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt; margin-left: 0cm; margin-right: 0cm; margin-top: 0cm;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Courier New', Courier, monospace;"><i>I looked at my husband and squeezed his hand. He gave me a smile and assured me all was well. It was Friday after all. We might have been on Holiday but for others it was work as usual, the children were at school and as for the donkeys, well, the donkeys were having a day off.</i><o:p></o:p></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt; margin-left: 0cm; margin-right: 0cm; margin-top: 0cm;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Courier New', Courier, monospace;"><br /></span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-M_PvVYT6IH4/ThxwAiDUQKI/AAAAAAAAAN8/PeRL5aPnNWg/s1600/donkeys.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="240" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-M_PvVYT6IH4/ThxwAiDUQKI/AAAAAAAAAN8/PeRL5aPnNWg/s320/donkeys.jpg" width="320" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; text-align: center;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Courier New', Courier, monospace;"><br /></span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; text-align: center;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Courier New', Courier, monospace;"><br /></span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; text-align: left;"></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt; margin-left: 0cm; margin-right: 0cm; margin-top: 0cm;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Courier New', Courier, monospace;">There are about 400 working donkeys in the UK, of which 200 reside in Blackpool. It is therefore no surprise that there are regulations seeking to protect the animals from exploitation. They have a day off each week, on a Friday, a one hour lunch break and can only carry up to 51kgs.</span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt; margin-left: 0cm; margin-right: 0cm; margin-top: 0cm;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Courier New', Courier, monospace;"><o:p></o:p></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt; margin-left: 0cm; margin-right: 0cm; margin-top: 0cm;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Courier New', Courier, monospace;"><br /></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt; margin-left: 0cm; margin-right: 0cm; margin-top: 0cm;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Courier New', Courier, monospace;">I have never been to Blackpool, nor have I ever ridden a donkey. This is just one of the many pieces of trivia I've heard around the Production office as a shoot was being re-scheduled and scripts re-written to fit the real world. Writing and filmmaking can sometimes be a source of accidental knowledge, you become an expert at something you previously had little or no interest in.</span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt; margin-left: 0cm; margin-right: 0cm; margin-top: 0cm;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Courier New', Courier, monospace;"><br /></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt; margin-left: 0cm; margin-right: 0cm; margin-top: 0cm;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Courier New', Courier, monospace;">Here is a list of a few of the things I have learned over the years:</span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt; margin-left: 0cm; margin-right: 0cm; margin-top: 0cm;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Courier New', Courier, monospace;"><br /></span><br /><div class="MsoListParagraphCxSpLast" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt; margin-left: 36pt; margin-right: 0cm; margin-top: 0cm; text-indent: -18pt;"><div style="margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Courier New', Courier, monospace;">·<span style="font: normal normal normal 7pt/normal 'Times New Roman';">&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;</span>When hiring a Drag Queen for a shoot, allow at least an hour for make-up<o:p></o:p></span></div></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt; margin-left: 0cm; margin-right: 0cm; margin-top: 0cm;"><div style="margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Courier New', Courier, monospace;"><br /></span></div></div><div class="MsoListParagraphCxSpFirst" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt; margin-left: 36pt; margin-right: 0cm; margin-top: 0cm; text-indent: -18pt;"><div style="margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Courier New', Courier, monospace;">·<span style="font: normal normal normal 7pt/normal 'Times New Roman';">&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;</span>If someone asks you for a Paracetamol on set always say no, especially when there’s a nurse present.<o:p></o:p></span></div></div><div class="MsoListParagraphCxSpMiddle" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt; margin-left: 36pt; margin-right: 0cm; margin-top: 0cm;"><div style="margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Courier New', Courier, monospace;"><br /></span></div></div><div class="MsoListParagraphCxSpMiddle" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt; margin-left: 36pt; margin-right: 0cm; margin-top: 0cm; text-indent: -18pt;"><div style="margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Courier New', Courier, monospace;">·<span style="font: normal normal normal 7pt/normal 'Times New Roman';">&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;</span>Using a starting pistol for a shoot requires an armourer on set, even if it’s decommissioned. There should always be two people present when transporting the weapon, the armourer and a supervising armourer. The police need to be informed too!</span></div><div style="margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Courier New', Courier, monospace;"><br /></span></div></div></div><div class="MsoListParagraphCxSpFirst" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt; margin-left: 36pt; margin-right: 0cm; margin-top: 0cm; text-indent: -18pt;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Courier New', Courier, monospace;">·<span style="font: normal normal normal 7pt/normal 'Times New Roman';">&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;</span>It is possible to flip pancakes whilst running a marathon.<o:p></o:p></span></div><div class="MsoListParagraphCxSpMiddle" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt; margin-left: 36pt; margin-right: 0cm; margin-top: 0cm;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Courier New', Courier, monospace;"><br /></span></div><div class="MsoListParagraphCxSpLast" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt; margin-left: 36pt; margin-right: 0cm; margin-top: 0cm; text-indent: -18pt;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Courier New', Courier, monospace;">·<span style="font: normal normal normal 7pt/normal 'Times New Roman';"><span class="Apple-style-span">&nbsp; <span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;">&nbsp; <span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Courier New', Courier, monospace;">I now know&nbsp;</span></span></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Courier New', Courier, monospace; font-size: small;">h</span></span>ow to make fake blood – the edible version</span></div><div class="MsoListParagraphCxSpMiddle" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt; margin-left: 36pt; margin-right: 0cm; margin-top: 0cm;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Courier New', Courier, monospace;"><br /></span></div><div class="MsoListParagraphCxSpLast" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt; margin-left: 36pt; margin-right: 0cm; margin-top: 0cm; text-indent: -18pt;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Courier New', Courier, monospace;">·<span style="font: normal normal normal 7pt/normal 'Times New Roman';">&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;</span>Filming with animals is expensive<o:p></o:p></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt; margin-left: 0cm; margin-right: 0cm; margin-top: 0cm;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Courier New', Courier, monospace;"><br /></span></div><div class="MsoListParagraph" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt; margin-left: 36pt; margin-right: 0cm; margin-top: 0cm; text-indent: -18pt;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Courier New', Courier, monospace;">·<span style="font: normal normal normal 7pt/normal 'Times New Roman';">&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;</span>If you plan on filming at Cannes do not book your flight and accommodation last minute unless you want to end up out of town or somewhere really really expensive<o:p></o:p></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt; margin-left: 0cm; margin-right: 0cm; margin-top: 0cm;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Courier New', Courier, monospace;"><br /></span></div><div class="MsoListParagraph" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt; margin-left: 36pt; margin-right: 0cm; margin-top: 0cm; text-indent: -18pt;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Courier New', Courier, monospace;">·<span style="font: normal normal normal 7pt/normal 'Times New Roman';">&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;</span>There is a small island north of Scotland called Shetland. They farm cod fish.<o:p></o:p></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt; margin-left: 0cm; margin-right: 0cm; margin-top: 0cm;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Courier New', Courier, monospace;"><br /></span></div><div class="MsoListParagraph" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt; margin-left: 36pt; margin-right: 0cm; margin-top: 0cm; text-indent: -18pt;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Courier New', Courier, monospace;">·<span style="font: normal normal normal 7pt/normal 'Times New Roman';">&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;</span>Travelling to a location for 48hrs with little or no sleep is not recommended<o:p></o:p></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt; margin-left: 0cm; margin-right: 0cm; margin-top: 0cm;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Courier New', Courier, monospace;"><br /></span></div><div class="MsoListParagraph" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt; margin-left: 36pt; margin-right: 0cm; margin-top: 0cm; text-indent: -18pt;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Courier New', Courier, monospace;">·<span style="font: normal normal normal 7pt/normal 'Times New Roman';">&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;</span>Thorpe Park is closed for maintenance on Tuesdays – and therefore perfect for filming without the added hazard and noise of crowds. On the other hand, having 12 turns in a row on a rollercoaster is not for everyone.<o:p></o:p></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt; margin-left: 0cm; margin-right: 0cm; margin-top: 0cm;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Courier New', Courier, monospace;"><br /></span></div><div class="MsoListParagraph" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt; margin-left: 36pt; margin-right: 0cm; margin-top: 0cm; text-indent: -18pt;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Courier New', Courier, monospace;">·<span style="font: normal normal normal 7pt/normal 'Times New Roman';">&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;</span>Haggis really is just a lamb sausage made with more spices, although I’m still not convinced about trying it. Incidentally, you can’t get it through customs into the US</span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt; margin-left: 0cm; margin-right: 0cm; margin-top: 0cm;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Courier New', Courier, monospace;"><br /></span></div><div class="MsoListParagraph" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt; margin-left: 36pt; margin-right: 0cm; margin-top: 0cm; text-indent: -18pt;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Courier New', Courier, monospace;">·<span style="font: normal normal normal 7pt/normal 'Times New Roman';">&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;</span>With a few props a meeting room/ office space can double up as almost anything. The corridors around the offices at Elstree for example are painted like hospital corridors so they can be easily used for filming Holby City.</span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt; margin-left: 0cm; margin-right: 0cm; margin-top: 0cm;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Courier New', Courier, monospace;"><br /></span></div><div class="MsoListParagraph" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt; margin-left: 36pt; margin-right: 0cm; margin-top: 0cm; text-indent: -18pt;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Courier New', Courier, monospace;">·<span style="font: normal normal normal 7pt/normal 'Times New Roman';">&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;</span>When at the BBC, if you get asked about the positioning of a <a href="http://www.bbc.co.uk/blogs/aboutthebbc/2011/04/digital-on-screen-graphics-res.shtml">DOG</a> on screen, you do not search for a four-legged animal wagging its tail</span></div><div class="MsoListParagraphCxSpMiddle" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt; margin-left: 36pt; margin-right: 0cm; margin-top: 0cm;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Courier New', Courier, monospace;"><br /></span></div><div class="MsoListParagraphCxSpLast" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt; margin-left: 36pt; margin-right: 0cm; margin-top: 0cm; text-indent: -18pt;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Courier New', Courier, monospace;">·<span style="font: normal normal normal 7pt/normal 'Times New Roman';">&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;</span>If you work for/at the BBC you are required to do an extensive Health and Safety course and after that you never ever breathe again without filling in a form detailing the type of breathing, where and how you will be breathing, what risks are present in breathing and what measures you will be taking to prevent any of the risks. You are also fully aware of who gets blamed if you breathe in the wrong way.&nbsp;Oh and you get to see Anthea Turner on fire.</span><br /><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Courier New', Courier, monospace;"><br /></span></div><div class="MsoListParagraphCxSpFirst" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt; margin-left: 36pt; margin-right: 0cm; margin-top: 0cm; text-indent: -18pt;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Courier New', Courier, monospace;"><br /></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt; margin-left: 0cm; margin-right: 0cm; margin-top: 0cm;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Courier New', Courier, monospace;">What facts have you come across accidentally or as part of your job, which you haven't actively sought out?&nbsp;</span><br /><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;"><br /></span></div></div>Teenie Russellhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04464060806712120012noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4068665620134715996.post-75920798307606954332011-06-06T15:22:00.006+01:002011-07-12T17:38:02.727+01:00Virtually There<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt; margin-left: 0cm; margin-right: 0cm; margin-top: 0cm;"><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-FIMWtPfIawU/Thx4V1yPWUI/AAAAAAAAAOA/iMx3CtaHcqA/s1600/writeonclapper.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="218" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-FIMWtPfIawU/Thx4V1yPWUI/AAAAAAAAAOA/iMx3CtaHcqA/s400/writeonclapper.jpg" width="400" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: -webkit-auto;"><br /></div></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt; margin-left: 0cm; margin-right: 0cm; margin-top: 0cm;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">This past weekend <a href="http://livingspirit.typepad.com/about.html">Chris Jones</a>, filmmaker and writer of The Guerrila Film Makers Handbook, held a Guerilla Film Makers Masterclass at Regents College. Having got a ticket with one of the discount codes available, it seemed great value for money, a weekend fully packed with talks on all aspects of filmmaking and to top it all up, it started on Friday night with a talk by Gareth Unwin and David Seidler, producer and writer for "The King’s Speech", respectively.</span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt; margin-left: 0cm; margin-right: 0cm; margin-top: 0cm;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;"><o:p></o:p></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt; margin-left: 0cm; margin-right: 0cm; margin-top: 0cm;"><br /></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt; margin-left: 0cm; margin-right: 0cm; margin-top: 0cm;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">There was just one problem: the ticket I bought wasn’t for me but for my husband. Having recently attended a <a href="http://www.teenierussell.com/2011/05/i-have-several-projects-at-various.html">Raindance</a> course, it only seemed fair that I did the babysitting instead. So whilst <a href="http://twitter.com/#!/TaroJ">Taro</a> was off to acquire invaluable knowledge, I put on Pulp Fiction and sulked. Every once in a while though I thought I’d see if anyone was tweeting from the event.&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;<o:p></o:p></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt; margin-left: 0cm; margin-right: 0cm; margin-top: 0cm;"><br /></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt; margin-left: 0cm; margin-right: 0cm; margin-top: 0cm;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">I was very pleased to see that whilst some people were tweeting about getting a Mexican wave going, Leilani Holmes (<a href="http://twitter.com/#!/momentsoffilm">@momentsoffilm</a>) was busy transcribing key moments 140 characters at a time and even though it wasn’t the same as being there, Twitter was the place to be for those of us who were unable to attend.<o:p></o:p></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt; margin-left: 0cm; margin-right: 0cm; margin-top: 0cm;"><br /></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt; margin-left: 0cm; margin-right: 0cm; margin-top: 0cm;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">The weekend followed in much the same style and I have actually learned a few things virtually.<o:p></o:p></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt; margin-left: 0cm; margin-right: 0cm; margin-top: 0cm;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;"><br /></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt; margin-left: 0cm; margin-right: 0cm; margin-top: 0cm;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">I could copy and paste all the tweets, but it would be a very long post, so instead you can check it out on <a href="http://twitter.com/#!/search?q=%23GFilm">#GFilm</a><o:p></o:p></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt; margin-left: 0cm; margin-right: 0cm; margin-top: 0cm;"><br /></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt; margin-left: 0cm; margin-right: 0cm; margin-top: 0cm;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">Here are some of my favourite tweets:<o:p></o:p></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt; margin-left: 0cm; margin-right: 0cm; margin-top: 0cm;"><br /></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt; margin-left: 0cm; margin-right: 0cm; margin-top: 0cm;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;"><span style="color: #444444;"><a href="http://twitter.com/#!/momentsoffilm" style="color: blue; text-decoration: underline;" title="Leilani Holmes"><b>momentsoffilm</b></a>&nbsp;</span><span style="color: #999999;">Leilani Holmes</span><span style="color: #444444;">&nbsp;<o:p></o:p></span></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 14.25pt; margin-bottom: 0.0001pt; margin-left: 0cm; margin-right: 0cm; margin-top: 0cm;"><span style="color: #444444;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;"><a href="http://twitter.com/#!/search?q=%23GFilm" style="color: blue; text-decoration: underline;" title="#GFilm"><b><span style="color: #93a644; text-decoration: none;">#GFilm</span></b></a>&nbsp;Advice to new filmmakers Gareth: Just do it. The day you become a Producer is when you produce. A director when you direct.<o:p></o:p></span></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt; margin-left: 0cm; margin-right: 0cm; margin-top: 0cm;"><br /></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt; margin-left: 0cm; margin-right: 0cm; margin-top: 0cm;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;"><span style="color: #444444;"><a href="http://twitter.com/#!/momentsoffilm" style="color: blue; text-decoration: underline;" title="Leilani Holmes"><b>momentsoffilm</b></a>&nbsp;</span><span style="color: #999999;">Leilani Holmes</span><span style="color: #444444;">&nbsp;<o:p></o:p></span></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 14.25pt; margin-bottom: 0.0001pt; margin-left: 0cm; margin-right: 0cm; margin-top: 0cm;"><span style="color: #444444;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;"><a href="http://twitter.com/#!/search?q=%23GFilm" style="color: blue; text-decoration: underline;" title="#GFilm"><b><span style="color: #93a644; text-decoration: none;">#GFilm</span></b></a>&nbsp;Advice to new filmmakers David: Write from your heart. Something that comes from within.</span></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt; margin-left: 0cm; margin-right: 0cm; margin-top: 0cm;"><br /></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt; margin-left: 0cm; margin-right: 0cm; margin-top: 0cm;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;"><span style="color: #444444;"><a href="http://twitter.com/#!/momentsoffilm" style="color: blue; text-decoration: underline;" title="Leilani Holmes"><b>momentsoffilm</b></a>&nbsp;</span><span style="color: #999999;">Leilani Holmes</span><span style="color: #444444;">&nbsp;<o:p></o:p></span></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 14.25pt; margin-bottom: 0.0001pt; margin-left: 0cm; margin-right: 0cm; margin-top: 0cm;"><span style="color: #444444;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;"><a href="http://twitter.com/#!/search?q=%23GFilm" style="color: blue; text-decoration: underline;" title="#GFilm"><span style="color: #8771b7; text-decoration: none;">#GFilm</span></a>&nbsp;David: You cannot wait for devine inspiration you just have to turn up and put something on the page.<o:p></o:p></span></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt; margin-left: 0cm; margin-right: 0cm; margin-top: 0cm;"><br /></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt; margin-left: 0cm; margin-right: 0cm; margin-top: 0cm;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;"><span style="color: #444444;"><a href="http://twitter.com/#!/Lunarcheeseshop" style="color: blue; text-decoration: underline;" title="Garret Smyth"><b>Lunarcheeseshop</b></a>&nbsp;</span><span style="color: #999999;">Garret Smyth</span><span style="color: #444444;">&nbsp;<o:p></o:p></span></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 14.25pt; margin-bottom: 0.0001pt; margin-left: 0cm; margin-right: 0cm; margin-top: 0cm;"><span style="color: #444444;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">Homo sapiens is much more than fifteen thousand years old! (This is a test message, although none the less true.)&nbsp;<a href="http://twitter.com/#!/search?q=%23GFilm" style="color: blue; text-decoration: underline;" title="#GFilm"><b><span style="color: #93a644; text-decoration: none;">#GFilm</span></b></a><o:p></o:p></span></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 14.25pt; margin-bottom: 0.0001pt; margin-left: 0cm; margin-right: 0cm; margin-top: 0cm;"><br /></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt; margin-left: 0cm; margin-right: 0cm; margin-top: 0cm;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;"><span style="color: #444444;"><a href="http://twitter.com/#!/WandaOpalinska" style="color: blue; text-decoration: underline;" title="Wanda Opalinska"><b>WandaOpalinska</b></a>&nbsp;</span><span style="color: #999999;">Wanda Opalinska</span><span style="color: #444444;">&nbsp;<o:p></o:p></span></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 14.25pt; margin-bottom: 0.0001pt; margin-left: 0cm; margin-right: 0cm; margin-top: 0cm;"><span style="color: #444444;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">Chris Jones&gt;Our subconscious can't distinguish real &amp; imagined emotions, which is why we cry @ films &lt;What do we think, tweeps?<a href="http://twitter.com/#!/search?q=%23GFilm" style="color: blue; text-decoration: underline;" title="#GFilm"><b><span style="color: #93a644; text-decoration: none;">#GFilm</span></b></a><o:p></o:p></span></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 14.25pt; margin-bottom: 0.0001pt; margin-left: 0cm; margin-right: 0cm; margin-top: 0cm;"><br /></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt; margin-left: 0cm; margin-right: 0cm; margin-top: 0cm;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;"><span style="color: #444444;"><a href="http://twitter.com/#!/momentsoffilm" style="color: blue; text-decoration: underline;" title="Leilani Holmes"><b>momentsoffilm</b></a>&nbsp;</span><span style="color: #999999;">Leilani Holmes</span><span style="color: #444444;">&nbsp;<o:p></o:p></span></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 14.25pt; margin-bottom: 0.0001pt; margin-left: 0cm; margin-right: 0cm; margin-top: 0cm;"><span style="color: #444444;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">We're in the business of creating powerful experiences. Movies are emotional training grounds.&nbsp;<a href="http://twitter.com/#!/search?q=%23GFilm" style="color: blue; text-decoration: underline;" title="#GFilm"><span style="color: #8771b7; text-decoration: none;">#GFilm</span></a><o:p></o:p></span></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 14.25pt; margin-bottom: 0.0001pt; margin-left: 0cm; margin-right: 0cm; margin-top: 0cm;"><br /></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt; margin-left: 0cm; margin-right: 0cm; margin-top: 0cm;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;"><span style="color: #444444;"><a href="http://twitter.com/#!/meddyford" style="color: blue; text-decoration: underline;" title="Meddy Ford"><b>meddyford</b></a>&nbsp;</span><span style="color: #999999;">Meddy Ford</span><span style="color: #444444;">&nbsp;<o:p></o:p></span></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 14.25pt; margin-bottom: 0.0001pt; margin-left: 0cm; margin-right: 0cm; margin-top: 0cm;"><span style="color: #444444;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">'It's about making 10,000 phone calls and getting one result' Too true!&nbsp;<a href="http://twitter.com/#!/search?q=%23Gfilm" style="color: blue; text-decoration: underline;" title="#Gfilm"><span style="color: #93a644; text-decoration: none;">#Gfilm</span></a><o:p></o:p></span></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 14.25pt; margin-bottom: 0.0001pt; margin-left: 0cm; margin-right: 0cm; margin-top: 0cm;"><br /></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt; margin-left: 0cm; margin-right: 0cm; margin-top: 0cm;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;"><span style="color: #444444;"><a href="http://twitter.com/#!/momentsoffilm" style="color: blue; text-decoration: underline;" title="Leilani Holmes"><b>momentsoffilm</b></a>&nbsp;</span><span style="color: #999999;">Leilani Holmes</span><span style="color: #444444;">&nbsp;<o:p></o:p></span></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 14.25pt; margin-bottom: 0.0001pt; margin-left: 0cm; margin-right: 0cm; margin-top: 0cm;"><span style="color: #444444;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;"><a href="http://twitter.com/#!/search?q=%23GFilm" style="color: blue; text-decoration: underline;" title="#GFilm"><span style="color: #8771b7; text-decoration: none;">#GFilm</span></a>&nbsp;Nobody really cares if you make your film but you. There's competition and there's people who have more but it never matters. Work.<o:p></o:p></span></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 14.25pt; margin-bottom: 0.0001pt; margin-left: 0cm; margin-right: 0cm; margin-top: 0cm;"><br /></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt; margin-left: 0cm; margin-right: 0cm; margin-top: 0cm;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;"><span style="color: #444444;"><a href="http://twitter.com/#!/asylumgiant" style="color: blue; text-decoration: underline;" title="Mark Lo"><b>asylumgiant</b></a>&nbsp;</span><span style="color: #999999;">Mark Lo</span><span style="color: #444444;">&nbsp;<o:p></o:p></span></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 14.25pt; margin-bottom: 0.0001pt; margin-left: 0cm; margin-right: 0cm; margin-top: 0cm;"><span style="color: #444444;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;"><a href="http://twitter.com/#!/search?q=%23GFilm" style="color: blue; text-decoration: underline;" title="#GFilm"><b><span style="color: #93a644; text-decoration: none;">#GFilm</span></b></a>&nbsp;BEWARE THE FETISH OF KIT :)<o:p></o:p></span></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 14.25pt; margin-bottom: 0.0001pt; margin-left: 0cm; margin-right: 0cm; margin-top: 0cm;"><br /></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt; margin-left: 0cm; margin-right: 0cm; margin-top: 0cm;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;"><span class="tweet-user-name"><span style="color: #444444;"><a href="http://twitter.com/#!/momentsoffilm" style="color: blue; text-decoration: underline;" title="Leilani Holmes"><b>momentsoffilm</b></a></span></span><span class="apple-converted-space"><span style="color: #444444;">&nbsp;</span></span><span class="tweet-full-name"><span style="color: #999999;">Leilani Holmes</span></span><span class="apple-converted-space"><span style="color: #444444;">&nbsp;</span></span><span style="color: #444444;"><o:p></o:p></span></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 14.25pt; margin-bottom: 0.0001pt; margin-left: 0cm; margin-right: 0cm; margin-top: 0cm;"><span style="color: #444444;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;"><a href="http://twitter.com/#!/search?q=%23gfilm" style="color: blue; text-decoration: underline;" title="#gfilm"><strong><span style="color: #93a644; text-decoration: none;">#</span></strong><span class="hash-text"><b><span style="color: #93a644; text-decoration: none;">gfilm</span></b></span></a><span class="apple-converted-space">&nbsp;</span>The material you end up with is your film. You may have to let go of the script and make the best film you can from what you have.<o:p></o:p></span></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 14.25pt; margin-bottom: 0.0001pt; margin-left: 0cm; margin-right: 0cm; margin-top: 0cm;"><br /></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt; margin-left: 0cm; margin-right: 0cm; margin-top: 0cm;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;"><span class="tweet-user-name"><span style="color: #444444;"><a href="http://twitter.com/#!/momentsoffilm" style="color: blue; text-decoration: underline;" title="Leilani Holmes"><b>momentsoffilm</b></a></span></span><span class="apple-converted-space"><span style="color: #444444;">&nbsp;</span></span><span class="tweet-full-name"><span style="color: #999999;">Leilani Holmes</span></span><span class="apple-converted-space"><span style="color: #444444;">&nbsp;</span></span><span style="color: #444444;"><o:p></o:p></span></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 14.25pt; margin-bottom: 0.0001pt; margin-left: 0cm; margin-right: 0cm; margin-top: 0cm;"><span style="color: #444444;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;"><a href="http://twitter.com/#!/search?q=%23GFilm" style="color: blue; text-decoration: underline;" title="#GFilm"><strong><span style="color: #93a644; text-decoration: none;">#</span></strong><span class="hash-text"><b><span style="color: #93a644; text-decoration: none;">GFilm</span></b></span></a><span class="apple-converted-space">&nbsp;</span>We're critiqueing a short. Audience a bit brutal here. A good indication of how people react &amp; why to test screen where possible.<o:p></o:p></span></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 14.25pt; margin-bottom: 0.0001pt; margin-left: 0cm; margin-right: 0cm; margin-top: 0cm;"><br /></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt; margin-left: 0cm; margin-right: 0cm; margin-top: 0cm;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;"><span class="tweet-user-name"><span style="color: #444444;"><a href="http://twitter.com/#!/momentsoffilm" style="color: blue; text-decoration: underline;" title="Leilani Holmes"><b>momentsoffilm</b></a></span></span><span class="apple-converted-space"><span style="color: #444444;">&nbsp;</span></span><span class="tweet-full-name"><span style="color: #999999;">Leilani Holmes</span></span><span class="apple-converted-space"><span style="color: #444444;">&nbsp;</span></span><span style="color: #444444;"><o:p></o:p></span></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 14.25pt; margin-bottom: 0.0001pt; margin-left: 0cm; margin-right: 0cm; margin-top: 0cm;"><span style="color: #444444;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;"><a href="http://twitter.com/#!/search?q=%23GFilm" style="color: blue; text-decoration: underline;" title="#GFilm"><strong><span style="color: #93a644; text-decoration: none;">#</span></strong><span class="hash-text"><b><span style="color: #93a644; text-decoration: none;">GFilm</span></b></span></a><span class="apple-converted-space">&nbsp;</span>A feature stays around for a long time so you have to love what you do.</span></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 14.25pt; margin-bottom: 0.0001pt; margin-left: 0cm; margin-right: 0cm; margin-top: 0cm;"><br /></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt; margin-left: 0cm; margin-right: 0cm; margin-top: 0cm;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;"><span class="tweet-user-name"><span style="color: #444444;"><a href="http://twitter.com/#!/Lunarcheeseshop" style="color: blue; text-decoration: underline;" title="Garret Smyth"><b>Lunarcheeseshop</b></a></span></span><span class="apple-converted-space"><span style="color: #444444;">&nbsp;</span></span><span class="tweet-full-name"><span style="color: #999999;">Garret Smyth</span></span><span class="apple-converted-space"><span style="color: #444444;">&nbsp;</span></span><span style="color: #444444;"><o:p></o:p></span></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 14.25pt; margin-bottom: 0.0001pt; margin-left: 0cm; margin-right: 0cm; margin-top: 0cm;"><span style="color: #444444;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;"><a href="http://twitter.com/#!/search?q=%23GFilm" style="color: blue; text-decoration: underline;" title="#GFilm"><strong><span style="color: #93a644; text-decoration: none;">#</span></strong><span class="hash-text"><b><span style="color: #93a644; text-decoration: none;">GFilm</span></b></span></a><span class="apple-converted-space">&nbsp;</span>CHIPS! Someone is eating chips in the room. They smell delicious...</span></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 14.25pt; margin-bottom: 0.0001pt; margin-left: 0cm; margin-right: 0cm; margin-top: 0cm;"><br /></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt; margin-left: 0cm; margin-right: 0cm; margin-top: 0cm;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;"><span class="tweet-user-name"><span style="color: #444444;"><a href="http://twitter.com/#!/livingspiritpix" style="color: blue; text-decoration: underline;" title="Chris Jones"><b>livingspiritpix</b></a></span></span><span class="apple-converted-space"><span style="color: #444444;">&nbsp;</span></span><span class="tweet-full-name"><span style="color: #999999;">Chris Jones</span></span><span class="apple-converted-space"><span style="color: #444444;">&nbsp;</span></span><span style="color: #444444;"><o:p></o:p></span></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 14.25pt; margin-bottom: 0.0001pt; margin-left: 0cm; margin-right: 0cm; margin-top: 0cm;"><span style="color: #444444;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">Exhausted, exhilarated and inspired by the extraordinary people I met at the Guerilla Masterclass. The REAL future of the industry<span class="apple-converted-space">&nbsp;</span><a href="http://twitter.com/#!/search?q=%23GFilm" style="color: blue; text-decoration: underline;" title="#GFilm"><strong style="color: blue; text-decoration: underline;"><span style="color: #93a644; text-decoration: none;">#</span></strong><span class="hash-text" style="color: blue; text-decoration: underline;"><b><span style="color: #93a644; text-decoration: none;">GFilm</span></b></span></a></span></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 14.25pt; margin-bottom: 0.0001pt; margin-left: 0cm; margin-right: 0cm; margin-top: 0cm;"><br /></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 14.25pt; margin-bottom: 0.0001pt; margin-left: 0cm; margin-right: 0cm; margin-top: 0cm;"><br /></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 14.25pt; margin-bottom: 0.0001pt; margin-left: 0cm; margin-right: 0cm; margin-top: 0cm;"><span style="color: #444444;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">I also got my husband’s account of the weekend and like many people, he’s ready to just do it! He also brought me home a little gift, a DVD copy of Chris Jones’ award winning short <a href="http://www.livingspirit.com/GoneFishingTrailer.htm">“Gone Fishing”</a>. Can’t wait to see it.</span></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 14.25pt; margin-bottom: 0.0001pt; margin-left: 0cm; margin-right: 0cm; margin-top: 0cm;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #444444; font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;"><br /></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt; margin-left: 0cm; margin-right: 0cm; margin-top: 0cm;"><br /><div style="text-align: center;"><iframe frameborder="0" height="300" src="http://player.vimeo.com/video/2938753?title=0&amp;byline=0&amp;portrait=0" width="400"></iframe></div><div style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://vimeo.com/2938753">Gone Fishing Trailer</a> from <a href="http://vimeo.com/guerillafilm">Chris Jones</a> on <a href="http://vimeo.com/">Vimeo</a>.</div><br /></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt; margin-left: 0cm; margin-right: 0cm; margin-top: 0cm;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">It is amazing what can be done in this day and age and that one can gather so much information from an event as it’s unfolding but I must emphasize that as thankful as I was for all the live tweets, this is just the next best thing (poor man’s solution) rather than a substitute to physically being there. So unless you had a good excuse, such as babysitting, then I hope you were there.<o:p></o:p></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt; margin-left: 0cm; margin-right: 0cm; margin-top: 0cm;"><br /></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt; margin-left: 0cm; margin-right: 0cm; margin-top: 0cm;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">With 360 delegates, there might have been new friendships starting over the weekend that will last for years, or who knows someone could have met the love of their life? Whatever you got from the event, those are things that I have missed out on, although thankfully I’m already married. Social networking and live streaming can all be invaluable sources of knowledge and exchange of information essential for today’s fast paced lifestyles, but they lack the very important human touch.<o:p></o:p></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt; margin-left: 0cm; margin-right: 0cm; margin-top: 0cm;"><br /></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt; margin-left: 0cm; margin-right: 0cm; margin-top: 0cm;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">Some of the delegates were quick to add their thoughts to a blog and I decided to list the ones I’ve come across. If you too have written down your thoughts and experiences of the weekend, feel free to send me a link and I’ll add it to the list.<o:p></o:p></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt; margin-left: 0cm; margin-right: 0cm; margin-top: 0cm;"><br /></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt; margin-left: 0cm; margin-right: 0cm; margin-top: 0cm;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;"><a href="http://www.chrisjonesblog.com/2011/06/what-did-we-learn-from-oscar-winning-producer-gareth-unwin-and-oscar-winning-writer-david-seidler.html">What did we learn from Oscar Winning Producer Gareth Unwin and Oscar winning writer David Seidler?</a> - by Chris Jones</span><br /><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;"><br /></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt; margin-left: 0cm; margin-right: 0cm; margin-top: 0cm;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;"><a href="http://momentsoffilm.blogspot.com/2011/06/gareth-unwin-david-seidler-history-of.html">Gareth Unwin, David Seidler &amp; The History of The King's Speech</a>&nbsp;– by Leilani Holmes</span><br /><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;"><br /></span><br /><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;"><a href="http://momentsoffilm.blogspot.com/2011/06/guerilla-film-masterclass-gfilm.html">The Guerilla Film Masterclass #GFilm</a> - by Leilani Holmes</span><br /><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;"><br /></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt; margin-left: 0cm; margin-right: 0cm; margin-top: 0cm;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;"><a href="http://meddyford.tumblr.com/">Start Doing It, Stop Talking About It ~ Gareth Unwin</a> – by Meddy Ford</span><br /><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;"><br /></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt; margin-left: 0cm; margin-right: 0cm; margin-top: 0cm;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;"><a href="http://www.begborrowstealproductions.com/page4.htm">Reality Bites: How The Guerilla Film Masterclass Bit Me Hard…</a>&nbsp;- by Stuart Elms</span><br /><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;"><br /></span><br /><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;"><a href="http://evermorefilms.blogspot.com/2011/06/back-to-life-back-to-reality.html">Back to Life, back to Reality</a> - by evermorefilms</span><br /><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;"><br /></span><br /><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;"><a href="http://yspmedia.co.uk/2011/06/gfm/">Guerilla Filmmakers Masterclass in London</a> - by Christopher Bevan</span><br /><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;"><br /></span><br /><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;"><a href="http://littlehelpfromourfriends.blogspot.com/2011/06/things-i-learnt-this-weekend.html">Things I Learnt this Weekend</a> - by Alli Parker</span><br /><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;"><br /></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: 'Times New Roman'; font-size: 12pt; margin-bottom: 0.0001pt; margin-left: 0cm; margin-right: 0cm; margin-top: 0cm;"><br /></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: 'Times New Roman'; font-size: 12pt; margin-bottom: 0.0001pt; margin-left: 0cm; margin-right: 0cm; margin-top: 0cm;"><br /></div>Teenie Russellhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04464060806712120012noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4068665620134715996.post-84880908780370728202011-05-26T22:00:00.001+01:002011-05-26T22:23:21.102+01:00I Have Several Projects at Various Stages of DevelopmentLast Saturday I attended the Saturday Film School offered by <a href="http://www.raindance.co.uk/site/saturday-film-school-london">Raindance</a>.<br /><br />Let me just start by saying that one might think that listening to the same person speak for most of the day could be tedious. Perhaps, but that was definitely not the case when I recently sat and listened to Elliot Grove, founder of Raindance, whilst he reminisced about his life and filmmaking.<br /><br />I was sitting in an auditorium filled with other budding filmmakers, all hungry for his tips and know how on how to succeed in this cut-throat industry. There it was, one of the first things he said was why we would never succeed. He whittled it down to 3 reasons:&nbsp;lack of confidence, procrastination&nbsp;and our own weaknesses. They all ring true with me and&nbsp;I feel that I have now run out of excuses.<br /><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-kjCV0heVatA/Td7Eq0T6jaI/AAAAAAAAAJc/ErxhffJLo84/s1600/slay-procrastination-delay.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="242" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-kjCV0heVatA/Td7Eq0T6jaI/AAAAAAAAAJc/ErxhffJLo84/s320/slay-procrastination-delay.jpg" width="320" /></a></div><br /><br /><div style="margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px;">There was a good mixture of age groups and specialisations, some already making movies or getting started and others still looking for a way in; some open to anything that could help them gain extra insight and answers, others who sadly had it all figured out.</div><div style="margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px;"><br /></div><div style="margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px;">The first person I spoke to was a young girl sitting to my right. She had a love of filmmaking but had yet to join the industry and wasn't sure what role she wanted to have in it. She is a science graduate and her day job involves reading science articles and spotting mistakes in the theory. I hope she realises that she has a great skill and could offer herself as a researcher for sci-fi movies or science programmes. If she wants to write, well half of it is to read and she does it on a daily basis.</div><br /><b>No Money No Problem</b><br />Once we were assured that money does not have to be an issue we became our only barriers. If you are now thinking, but my script has a aeroplane, I can't afford to hire one; I need a certain actor for it to work, I don't know him; whatever it is you think is a problem, then you are just searching for yet another excuse. If you are serious about it, passionate about it, there is always a way. You make do with what you have. Write that big script which will cost a million, why not? but also write the no budget script, the one you know can be filmed on your street, in your uncle's bungalow, at the local playground, the one that will only require your home made props and the available and very willing actors you've met along the way.<br /><br />The award winning short Sign Language directed by Oscar Sharp and written by Stephen Follows&nbsp;is a great example of a no budget short.<br /><br /><div style="text-align: center;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: center;"><iframe frameborder="0" height="300" src="http://player.vimeo.com/video/9573920?title=0&amp;byline=0&amp;portrait=0" width="400"></iframe></div><div style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://vimeo.com/9573920">Sign Language - a short film</a> from <a href="http://vimeo.com/mroscar">Oscar Sharp</a> on <a href="http://vimeo.com/">Vimeo</a>.</div><br /><br /><b>The Big Announcement</b><br />Once you have decided this is definitely what you want to do with your life, it's time to make the big announcement. Tell the world what you want to be when you grow up. My announcement was made many years ago whilst still at Uni. When a lecturer enquired who we aspired to be I announced very boldly that I was going to be a famous Producer. Yes, I know, I still laugh and cringe at the thought of it. Even though it's still an area I would like to pursue, being a writer is what I'm in love with at the moment.<br /><br />Life is what it is though, you can plan as much as you wish, but you never know where you will end and I've had a fantastic journey so far even if I'm yet to Produce a short.<br /><br /><b>I Have Several Projects at Various Stages of Development</b><br />That has to be one of the best lines delivered by Elliot and we will probably all remember it for a while. It says it all whilst saying nothing. What does it really mean? Is it not an easy way out when you are announcing to the world you are a writer, a director, an editor, yet you have nothing to show for it? Maybe some people will buy it and applaud you for it, but you also have to be true to yourself.<br />No one is out to get you, no one cares if you have many projects in the making or not, you are your worst judge and if you've made the announcement but have yet to take the first step then the only one you are letting down is yourself (unless you have a family to support and have quit your day job to become a writer).<br /><br /><b>We Make our Own Luck</b><br />Elliot also talked about luck and what we each call it. I believe luck doesn't happen, it's made. You don't get lucky by writing one script and then sitting and waiting to be discovered. You work bloody hard at it, work around your day job, push yourself, get your name out there, meet people and then after maybe a year or maybe ten years you get your reward, if you're lucky.<br /><br /><b>The Movie is a Lie</b><br />In the afternoon, we all enjoyed a session about Directing with <a href="http://www.secretsofscreenacting.com/">Patrick Tucker</a> and from that I learned the cinema is a lie - what we don't see on screen doesn't exist. It was a very interesting session in which he demonstrated various different shots and how they are best captured on camera, even if that means having to strike some very uncomfortable or even embarrassing poses. They might look odd in real life, but on screen appear natural.<br /><br /><br />At the end of the day, I felt refreshed and inspired, I was ready to get out there and make movies. It was time to network and meet all those like minded people&nbsp;whose minds had all been equally blown away.&nbsp;Where better to start then the pub next door filled with those same people.<br /><br />I was glad to have met some fantastic people whom I hope to keep in touch with and who knows we could one day collaborate.<br /><br />I wish all of those who attended the course good luck and keep smiling.Teenie Russellhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04464060806712120012noreply@blogger.com2